Vengeance
by Kodachrome
Summary: Years had passed since the events that brought Malcolm Ishida and Nancy Takaishi together, but when someone from their past comes back to seek revenge by kidnapping their sons, what will they do to get them back. Another Yama/T.K. brother fic! ^_^
1. Prologue

The young lady took a deep breath and smiled as she walked up the steps to the main entrance of the office building

Author's Note: I don't know what inspired me to write this, I think after I watched the movie, 3,000 miles to Graceland, ideas started to pop up in my head. Anyway, this is the prologue, it's all about Matt and T.K.'s parents before they were born. The rest of the story will be about Matt and T.K. Anyways, hope you like. It's rather long.

Rating: PG-13, for guns and stuff.

Disclaimer: Don't own it, wished I did, but I don't. Don't wanna hear me complain? Then I won't. 

The young lady took a deep breath and smiled as she walked up the steps to the main entrance of the office building. She wore an off-white buttoned down blouse that was tucked into a light blue skirt that fell just below her knees. She stopped outside a pair of double doors and gazed at her reflection in the glass. Her hair was short and light brown, she wore it straight. She checked to make sure her stockings had no runs and clutched her purse to her side as she squeezed her eyes shut and proceeded through the front door.

It was Nancy Takaishi's first day on the job as a writer for the newspaper, and she really wanted to make a good impression with the editor. She casually strolled over to the front desk, trying to act non-chalant, as if she had been there a thousand times in the past. She glanced down at the receptionist, who seemed to look friendly and quietly asked to speak to Mr. Yokohana.

"Excuse me Miss, but you'll have to speak up." The lady replied, adjusting her thick-framed glasses.

"Uh, Mr. Yokohana please." She answered nervously, her air of confidence already beginning to deteriorate.

"Oh, you must be the new girl." The stout woman replied. She pushed a button on her intercom, "Hey Earl! New kid's here to see ya!" she practically hollered into the little device.

Nancy bit her lip and began to glance around nervously.

"He says to come right in," the lady finally said, after what seemed like hours of waiting.

"Through that door?" Nancy questioned, pointing to the door marked "Press Room."

The pudgy little woman stood up and adjusted her glasses while squinting her eyes, "Uh, do ya see any others girlie?" she replied sarcastically.

Nancy looked around and realized that it was the only door there. Now she felt extremely embarrassed, her face began to glow a pinkish hue and she covered it with one hand as she pushed through the door.

She heard a loud thud and saw papers go flying in every direction in front of her.

"Oh my!" she exclaimed and peered around the door to see that she had accidentally knocked somebody over. Things were really not going well, she thought. The man laying on the floor glared up at her and let out a long, dramatic sigh.

"Now I gotta re-organize all of these all over again!" he complained as he began to gather up the loose papers.

Nancy knelt down to help him. "I'm terribly sorry," she said, offering him some of the papers. He snatched them from her hand, "Yeah, yeah. Thanks lady, I really appreciate your sympathy." He said dryly. Nancy was almost compelled to turn back around and head back to her car. When all the papers had been collected, she wandered down one of the cubicle aisles in search of Mr. Yokohana. The news room was very loud, and the constant ding of typewriter carriages and the inaudible drone of voices only added to Nancy's confusion. She finally managed to find a door marked "Editor-in-Chief." She took a deep breath and placed her hand on the doorknob, praying that Mr. Yokohana was not standing behind the door. She didn't want any more accidents on her record. 

As Nancy entered the small office, she noticed a large desk in the center of the room, with a nameplate that read E. Yokohana in bold lettering. The chair was facing the opposite wall and Nancy quietly cleared her throat, trying to catch his attention.

"Excuse me?" she said tentatively.

"Yes," was the stern reply as the chair swiveled around to reveal an elderly looking man, perhaps in his late forties. He had dark rings under his eyes, which reminded Nancy of a raccoon. His tie was crooked and only halfway fastened, while his hair looked as if he had never even ran a comb through it that morning.

"Good morning, sir. Nancy Takaishi, reporting for work." She managed.

"Ah, yes. The new girl." He smiled as he cracked his knuckles. "So, tell me a little about yourself, Nancy." He said, indicating for her to have a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk.

"Thank you." She replied as she seated herself. "Well, there's really not much to tell, I'm very anxious to get started. As you can see by my resume, I'm an experienced writer. I wrote for my college's school news—," Mr. Yokohana raised a hand to silence her.

"Well Nancy, let me start off by saying that this is not your "school" newspaper. This job will require you to do more than interview the lunch ladies about the mystery behind the mystery meat."

"I know that sir…" she replied, but was once again interrupted.

"Let me finish…I usually put my first-timers to a test. I want to see how well your journalism skills are." He said and raised his eyebrow, waiting for any objections from the young lady. When he saw that she had his undivided attention, he went on. "I know you can write, hell, I could even have the receptionist out there write for this paper, but that's not the point. The point is, in order to work here, you gotta be able to find the stories. So, if you're still interested your first assignment is to get me a worthwhile story. If you can do that, then you've got yourself a job."

Nancy smiled, "Oh yes sir, I can do that." She chirped enthusiastically. "Thank you sir, I'll get right on it." She said shaking his hand. He cracked a smile and nodded as she made her way out of his office.

"She's got enthusiasm." He commented, "I like that in a journalist." He said as he sat back down at his desk. "I think she'll do alright."

Nancy hurried down the steps outside the building. She opened her purse and fumbled around for her car keys as she dashed across the parking lot towards her vehicle. 

"Okay, big story Nancy. That's what you need to show these guys."she said to herself as she sat down in the driver's seat. Her brow furrowed and she let out a small sigh. "Where am I going to find a story that will really show off my skills as a good journalist?" After much thought, she finally decided to cruise around town in search of her story.

A few blocks up the street, Nancy swore she saw smoke rising up from one of the buildings. "A fire!" she exclaimed as she slammed on her brakes and jerked the car to the side of the road. She leapt out of the car and sprinted up the street, pencil and notepad in hand. The young woman skidded to a halt in front of a few fire trucks and weaved in and out of a line of police cars and ambulances. When she had finally managed to get within good range of the building itself she realized that there was already a news crew from the local t.v. station covering the story. She let out a frustrated sigh before she was mowed down from behind by at least ten other news reporters. Nancy lay on the ground in a heap.

A tall, young man with chestnut brown hair eyed her from the distance. He had been the reporter who was first on the scene. He signaled for his cameraman to cut and stuck his microphone in his back pocket as he smoothly made his way over to Nancy.

"Need a hand?" he asked as he offered his to her.

"Why thank you." She said as she brushed a stray lock of hair out of her face. Her hand met his and he clutched it and pulled Nancy to her feet.

"Are you alright?" he asked concerned.

"I think so…" she began and then realized who she was speaking to. She immediately pulled her hand back and dusted herself off. "If you'll excuse me, I have a story to find." She said arrogantly as she shoved past him and stormed back up the street to her car.

"Dude, what's her problem?" the reporter's cameraman asked, scratching his head.

"I don't know? You'd think she'd be grateful?" he replied. "Well, Jim, let's get this footage back to the t.v. station, it'll make a great six o'clock story."

"Sure thing boss." The cameraman replied, hoisting his camcorder over his shoulder. The two headed back to their van and sped off down the street.

Once she was back at her car, Nancy began to feel guilty for how she treated the young reporter, who was only trying to help her, but her mind was still tainted with jealousy at the fact that he had arrived first. There was no way she wanted second hand news. After all, this was her first assignment, it had to be meaningful! She had to impress the editor, didn't she?

Nancy stuck her key in the ignition and took off down the road. A few hours later she had come to the scene of another newsworthy story, a car accident in the center of town. She stepped out of her automobile, but the minute she looked on the scene a scowl crossed her face. There he was again! Nancy thought as she eyed the young man suspiciously. She let out a slight groan and hopped back into her car.

This continued throughout the rest of the day. It seemed wherever she found a prospective story, her little acquaintance was already one step ahead of her. Nancy had finally had enough of it. She stamped her foot on the ground in frustration.

"So we meet again." The reporter smiled as he ran over to her. This time they stood in front of a liquor store that had just been robbed. He hopped over the police tape and landed squarely in front of her, blocking any exit she would have had.

"What do you want?" she said folding her arms as she cocked her head to one side to avoid eye contact. "Why don't you just go ahead and steal all my stories!" she spat, but quickly covered her mouth when she realized the last few lines were actually spoken.

The young man stood stunned, he had no idea she thought of him that way.

"Uh…I didn't even get your name before…" he said, awkwardly fidgeting.

Nancy noticed his nervous behavior and decided to give him a break, she had been a little out of line earlier.

"Nancy Takaishi," she said holding out her hand. "I'm a journalist with the Odaiba Chronicle."

"Malcolm Ishida," he replied shaking her hand, "Channel 3 News."

"Well, do excuse me Mr. Ishida, but as you can see I have had an extremely rough day, I'm going home now. It was a pleasure to meet you." She said insincerely as she turned on her heel and headed back to her car.

"Hmmm…" Malcolm sighed as he watched her drive off.

The next morning, Nancy was up bright and early and on the job. She decided that maybe her best bet was to walk around town. All the driving she had done the day prior left her fruitless, with an empty tank to match. So walking would be a different approach, she thought, trying to convince herself.

She had been walking for hours and the sun was beating down relentlessly. She had been to over twenty businesses that day trying to find some huge story, but she always seemed to turn up empty.

"I don't know," she sighed, "maybe I just need to set my sights lower." She gazed up to see the last building on the block. It was a large bank, she knew it would have air conditioning and at least she could sit down and take a break. Her feet were killing her, no doubt she had acquired a number of blisters by now. She began to approach the bank, but stopped suddenly when a black Lincoln whizzed by her nearly knocking her off the curb. It screeched to a halt just outside the bank doors and four seedy looking men exited the vehicle wearing black suits and sunglasses. Each carried a large briefcase.

"Hmmm…"Nancy thought as she peered around the side of the bank wall. Perhaps these were bank robbers, wouldn't that make a great story! She didn't want to jump to any conclusions, and decided that the best thing to do was follow her inquisitive side and investigate.

Nancy slid inside the bank, without so much as a second glance from any of the busy bank tellers. She glanced back and forth in search of the four men when she saw them entering an elevator. Nancy rushed towards the elevators and looked up to see what floor they were getting off on. She hopped into the nearest lift and hit the button for the top floor.

She cautiously exited the elevator, just in case the men were still in the hall. She crept down the hall with feline-like stealth and poked her head around the corner in time to catch a glimpse of a black trench coat as a door shut behind it. Nancy flattened herself against the wall and let out a relieved sigh, so far, so good, she thought. The young journalist peered around the corner again, checking to make sure everything was clear before she made her way over to where she had last seen the four men.

Nancy pressed her ear to the door and just as expected, she heard voices. The men were speaking rather casually about sports and the stock market, and such. Nancy soon became bored and felt like she had just wasted her time with her crazy suspicions. Before leaving though, she thought she'd catch a peek of these guys and stooped down to the keyhole.

"This always works in the movies," she silently cursed when she realized she could not see anything through the keyhole. Nancy stood up and turned to go, but neglected to notice the man standing directly behind her. She spun around and ran right into him.

Nancy was startled and took a few steps back as the man reached out and clamped his hand over her mouth.

"Shhhhhh…" he whispered, bringing his index finger up to his lips.

Nancy grabbed his hand and threw it back at him.

"What do you want!?" she began, before he placed his hand back over her mouth. When she started to retaliate again he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back around the corner and into one of the waiting elevators.

"Listen," he said glancing around the elevator as if someone else could hear them, "stay quiet okay."

"I am not going to be quiet!" she said in a hushed whisper. "What are you doing here anyway? Are you following me!?" she said and began to go on about how that was his game and how he was stealing all her good stories when Malcolm Ishida quickly placed his hand over her mouth for a third time.

"Look, I'll tell you what's going on if you just stay quiet for a few minutes. You have no idea the danger you are in right now!"

Nancy gave him a suspicious look as she squinted her eyes and looked into his. He did have very nice eyes she mused, but shook her head to clear that little unexpected thought. After a few seconds, she decided that she would believe him.

"Alright, spill it." she said in a sassy tone, trying to act like she had some sort of control.

"Okay, I made this deal with the cops, so right now I'm sort of undercover, anyway I have this little recorder on me and I'm supposed to pretend to be a client…" he was interrupted by Nancy flailing her arms back and forth in front of him.

"Whoa…whoa…whoa…you lost me there. I got everything about the cops, but why?"

"I was getting to that," he said impatiently. "Those four guys you saw, they are a part of this big money laundering scheme, but the cops haven't been able to nail them because they lack evidence, so I'm going to get that evidence for them." he smiled, holding up the mini-recorder for her to see. "And all I get in return is the rights to the story." he grinned.

Wow, Nancy thought, this would be a great story…but her mind trailed off again, as she was reminded of the last few lines he had uttered. She just couldn't let this story pass her by though, she had to think of a way that she could cover it. When she couldn't think of anyway of getting the story she just came flat out and said it to him.

"Alright Ishida, this is my story!"

The young man started to chuckle at the notion. "You're kidding right?"

"No, I'm serious," she stammered, "I-I need…er…I tracked this story first." She lied, trying to sound authoritative.

"Really?" Malcolm replied skeptically.

"Of course…why do you think I was up here spying on those guys?"

Malcolm scratched his head, but then he became angry, "This is foolish Nancy. You're in over your head. Just let me cover this story and next time we meet I'll let you have it." 

Nancy clenched her fists, she was becoming more frustrated by the minute. She had spent two days wandering the city for something big and now that she found it, this guy who seemed to attract the stories like flies going after honey, he…HE…wanted her to back off?

The elevator came to a stop on the bottom floor and the doors slid open. Malcolm started to usher Nancy out of the elevator, when she turned back around and shoved him back in. Malcolm slammed into the wall and before he could react, Nancy hit the button to go back up to the top floor.

"What are you doing?" he shouted.

"I'm going back up there to get my story!"she replied, folding her arms.

Malcolm decided that he had had enough of this girl's stubborn foolishness and marched over to the wall panel and hit the emergency stop button. The elevator lurched to a halt.

"What did you do that for?" she hollered at him.

"You're getting off right now and going back downstairs!" he shot back as he began to pry open the elevator doors with his hands.

"And I don't want anymore complaints," he said wagging his finger at her, as the doors slid open partially. "This is no place for a rookie…" he started to say as he reached for her hand and was about to step out of the elevator when he looked too late and saw that they were in between floors.

"Malcolm watch out!!" she screamed as he put one foot out into thin air and fell out of the elevator.

Nancy leapt towards him, her arm outstretched, as she reached to grasp his hand. She felt his fingers lace around her arm and she braced herself against the elevator door with her free hand.

She looked down to see the terrified face of Malcolm Ishida staring wide-eyed back up at her. He watched as a slow, evil smirk spread across her face.

"So…_Who's_ covering this story?" she smiled.

Malcolm bowed his head in defeat, "Fine, just pull me up already." He sighed, hating to give in to her, but his life was in her hands at the moment.

Moments later, Malcolm was safely back in the elevator, briefing Nancy on her part.

"Okay, here," he said as he shoved a small electrical device into the palm of her hand. "Use this tape recorder when I start talking to these guys."

"Am I going to be in the room with you?" she asked nervously.

"No, you'll be outside. Your recording will be for your story, consider that a gift," he said motioning to the recorder, "the one I'm wearing will be for the cops."

Nancy rolled the electronic device around in her hand, "So you're really going to let me have this story?" she asked gazing down into her palm.

Malcolm gave her a side ward glance, "What the heck?" he sighed, "Might as well give you a break since this _is_ your first assignment." He finished, leaving out the part about how he started to feel strongly attracted to her. Malcolm shook his head, this was no time to be thinking about things like that, he reminded himself.

The two exited the elevator and headed down the hall towards the door they had first encountered each other at earlier. The young man reached up and began to pry a small vent from the ceiling.

"This ventilation shaft goes directly above this room." He explained.

"You don't honestly think I'm going…" she started until he gave her a look which she took to mean, do it or leave. She bit her lower lip and let out a small sigh. "Give me a lift." 

With that Malcolm hoisted her up over his shoulders as she pulled herself through the tight corridor.

"Remember, be quiet." He whispered up to her before he straightened his tie and prepared to enter the room.

"Please excuse me gentlemen, I apologize for being late. I had a little elevator trouble if you know what I mean." Malcolm said rolling his eyes as he casually sat down in the nearest vacant seat.

One of the men stood up to greet him. From Nancy's perspective, she figured him to be the ringleader of the group. She had barely enough room to reach into her pocket and retrieve the small recorder, when he began to talk again.

"See that it doesn't happen again, you know how I despise tardiness." The man stated.

"Shall we get down to business?" Malcolm suggested.

About twenty minutes into the meeting, Nancy began to feel extremely uncomfortable and wondered how much longer she would have to remain in her cramped surroundings. If only there were a way for her to get a better recording and also a more comfortable position. She decided that maybe she would be able to move closer to the air vent without making too much noise It was worth a try, she thought, as she slowly began to inch forwards. 

"Perfect," she whispered. She was now directly above the small opening. Nancy began to fumble with the recorder, trying to find the best place to prop it up so she wouldn't have to hold it the entire time. She took great caution not to drop it in between the vent grating. Another fifteen minutes had gone by and Nancy let out another sigh. The situation was fairly exciting, and she wasn't at all bored, she was just tired of being cooped up in the ventilation shaft for more than half an hour.

"This _is_ what you wanted after all," Nancy said to herself. After some time she started to notice something crawling towards her.

"A spider!" she yelped clamping her hands over her mouth. She started to back out of the ventilation shaft as it came ever so closer to her. Nancy reached down to grab her shoe, but the spider moved too fast and lunged in her general direction. Nancy held back a scream as she flung her shoe at the spider. She despised spiders. The shoe bounced off the top of the duct work and succeeded in knocking the small recorder over. Nancy watched in horror as it teetered over the edge of the small vent openings. She dove to save it, but was too late, and squeezed her eyes shut as she heard it clatter onto the table below.

The room below filled with silence, as the leader of the group reached out and picked up the recorder. He glanced over at Malcolm and noticed he was tugging at his shirt collar rather nervously, and beads of sweat began to form around his face.

"Hmmm…I smell a set-up," he hissed and signaled to the rest of his men, who all stood up in unison. Malcolm noticed at that time, that they were all brandishing guns. He reached into his coat pocket and hit a small button on his hidden recording device. The button sent a signal to a police van parked outside, monitoring the whole situation.

"Let's go!" hollered one of the police officers as he pulled on a bullet-proof vest. Now all Malcolm could do was wait for back-up, and pray they'd get there in time.

Nancy stared wide-eyed down at the men with guns. She knew she had to get out of there fast. She squeezed back down the passage and hopped down from the ceiling, landing right outside the door to the conference room. 

The men attached silencers to their guns and began to fire up at the ventilation shaft. Malcolm could only watch in slight horror as the bullets ricocheted right and left, entering and exiting the ceiling. He ducked behind the large table.

"Stop it you idiots!" shouted the leader, as he took cover as well.

Malcolm only hoped that Nancy had enough sense to get out of there, but now that was the least of his concerns, as he felt a cold piece of metal spear him in the back.

"Get on your feet!" his captor yelled, and he obeyed.

"What should we do with this guy, Murphy?" one of the men asked.

Murphy walked over to where the young man stood with his arms up. He reached into Malcolm's coat pocket and ripped out the recorder.

"You a cop?" he sneered, eyeing the recorder before chucking it to the ground and stepping on it.

"N..No. A reporter." Malcolm grinned sheepishly.

Murphy whipped out a gun and aimed it directly at Malcolm's forehead.

"Well, I'm afraid this is one story you ain't gonna get." he chuckled, waving the gun around maliciously.

At that moment Nancy burst through the door, everyone turned around in surprise. She had know idea what she was doing, but she couldn't let them kill Malcolm over her stupid mistake.

"Hold it!" she screamed. Murphy turned around and started to laugh at her.

"What do you want lady?" he said fixing the gun on her.

"Uh…." her mind went blank for a few seconds, all she had wanted to do was stop them from killing Malcolm. She glanced across the room and made eye contact with him. "RUN!!" she screamed, as she turned around and began to sprint down the hall. Malcolm dove underneath the table as the guns started firing after her. Murphy swung his head back around to see Malcolm gone. This was his chance, while everyone stood looking around in confusion, he tore out from under the table and pounded down the hallway in pursuit of Nancy.

"Get after them!" Murphy yelled, but as the other three men were about to pile out of the room, a group of cops barricaded them in. 

"Freeze!" yelled one of them, as they all trained their weapons on the four men. "Drop your weapons!"

Malcolm finally caught up with Nancy and they turned to see the line of policemen dragging the criminals off in handcuffs. Murphy glared at the two as they passed.

"I won't forget this." He hissed. 

"Great job Ishida, we got it all on tape." One of the officers congratulated.

Malcolm looked back at Nancy and noticed she was only wearing one shoe. "You okay?"

"You know, that's twice I saved your life." She replied smugly.

Malcolm stood dumbstruck, "My life wouldn't have been in any danger either time if it wasn't for you!" he stammered.

Nancy only smiled coyly and walked away, glancing over her shoulder and holding up the tape recorder.

"How did you…" he started, as she flashed him a big smile. He sighed and rolled his eyes, "I have a headache." he whined, clutching his forehead.

….The next day….

Malcolm Ishida's telephone rang and he stumbled out of bed to answer it.

"Hello.." he said groggily.

"Malcolm!" Nancy chirped on the other end. "He loved it! Mr. Yokohana was thrilled with my story! Thank you so much!"

Malcolm scratched his head and yawned, "Is that what you woke me up for? To gloat?"

"Well…" Nancy giggled, "That and I was wondering if you were doing anything later on tonight?"

Malcolm's eyes immediately shot open after that remark, "Uh…no, I'm not busy at all!" he smiled.

……

And the rest is history…I mean you know what happens next…they date…they get married…have kids…sound familiar?

……

to be continued…

End note: Well, if you've read this far, then I congratulate you! This is the prologue of my next story, it's supposed to give a little background info, so you know how the next series of events connect. It's also my take on how Matt and T.K.'s parents met, which I don't think has ever been done before. lol. Anyways, I promise, the next part in the story is gonna be all about Matt and T.K.! They are the main characters after all. Hope you enjoyed, and sorry if this seemed a little too boring, but I felt it was necessary. ^_^ R+R please.

Also, in this part of the story, Nancy and Malcolm are in their early twenties and just starting out. Somebody told me what Matt's father's name was in Japanese, forgive me for not giving you credit whoever told me, anyways I'm using his English equivalent name, which I believe Spryte64 told me. Anyway, that's all for now!


	2. Chapter 1

The rain beat down relentlessly as Takeru Takaishi scrambled to get to the safety of the nearest overhang

Author's Note:Okay, here's the first chapter to my latest fic. I'm currently working on it and a story for SomeguyY2k's Taiora vampire fic contest. I know what you're thinking, me, write a Taiora??? Yeah, it surprised me too! lol. So please forgive me if I place this story on the back burner while I try to finish up the vamp fic. It'll probably be the only Taiora I ever write. Matt fics are sooo much better! ^_^Sorry to all the Taiora fans.

Disclaimer: *sighs* You know I don't own Digimon, but I'm flattered that you would think so highly of me. ^_^

Rating: Hmmm…not sure PG-13 to be on the safe side.

The rain beat down relentlessly as Takeru Takaishi scrambled to get to the safety of the nearest overhang. He glanced down at his watch and grasped the zipper on his jacket with trembling hands. He slowly zipped it up and averted his gaze up the street. It had been colder than he had anticipated. He silently cursed himself for not bringing an umbrella. T.K. shoved his hands into his pockets and let out an exasperated sigh. Matt was late again, he thought. It was something he had grown accustomed to. Ever since his brother had joined a band, he was rarely punctual for anything.

A relieved smile crossed T.K.'s lips as he saw a blonde-haired figure running up the street towards him, umbrella in hand.

T.K. gave the young man a playful glare and stood tapping his foot and glancing down at his watch.

"So I'm a little late!" Matt said in response to his little brother's guilt trip.

"A little?!" T.K. shot back.

"Just remember who you're dealing with squirt!" Matt replied as he snatched T.K.'s hat off his head and mischievously twirled it around his fingertip.

"Hey!" T.K. interjected, as his hand snaked out to retrieve the hat. He promptly placed it back on his head. Matt just rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Come on, let's go before we catch Pneumonia!" Matt shouted over some thunder. T.K. complied and ducked under the umbrella, as the two made their way down the street.

"What took you so long anyway?" T.K. inquired.

"Well, Dad called and told me not to stay out too late on account of the weather." Matt stated.

"How does that make you late?" T.K. prodded.

"What does it matter?" Matt remarked, becoming slightly annoyed at the third degree treatment he was receiving.

From Matt' s tone, T.K. could tell he had agitated him. He quickly bowed his head and stared at the ground as they walked, not uttering a word until his brother spoke again.

"So where do you want to go?" Matt asked, his tone gentler than before, acknowledging T.K.'s hurt expression.

"Well I didn't think it would be raining…" he started.

"Look, you wanted to spend some time with me today, so forget the rain." Matt commented.

"I guess we could go grab something to eat." T.K. replied, perking up a little. After all, his brother had a point. He did want to spend time with him, so the rain shouldn't interfere.

"Fine." Matt smiled, "There's a restaurant a few blocks from here." He said as he sloshed through a puddle, kicking the water up. It splashed onto T.K.'s shoes.The younger boy stopped and clenched his fists.

"Oh yeah?" he spat as his brother ignored him and continued to walk, quietly laughing to himself. T.K. waited for Matt to get a little further up the street before he bounded after him. He launched himself into the air and landed directly in a large pool of water next to his brother. The water sprayed up and soaked the entire right side of Matt's jeans and shirt.

"That's it!" he grinned evilly, "Now you're asking for it!" Seeing the look in his brother's eyes, T.K. tore down the street with Matt in hot pursuit.

Not far behind them, a large, black car slowly rolled down the street. Its tinted windows concealed the identity of the driver. It began to creep ever so closer to the two unsuspecting boys. 

Matt had finally managed to catch up to his little brother, and currently had him in a head lock.

"You give up!?" he shouted, both of them laughing at this point.

"Never!!!" T.K. growled as he struggled to get free, the rain had now completely drenched both boys, but neither seemed to care. They were far to engaged in their mock battle to notice.

Matt released his hold and whirled around when the car had pulled up right beside the two. T.K. bent down and rested his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath after the ordeal. He looked up to notice the rain letting up and quickly shot his gaze back at the car.

"Who's that?" he asked tentatively.

Matt eyed the car as it sat idling at the curb. He was about to say something when the passenger side window rolled down. Matt jumped back a few feet startled.

The man inside had numerous little scars on his face. His hair was gray and thin and he gave the two boys a sinister look with his steely black eyes. The glare sent shivers up and down Matt's spine and he backed up a few inches more, standing in front of T.K. as if to guard him from some unexpected attack..

"Uh…c-can I help you?" Matt asked as T.K. peered over his brother's shoulder.

"Is your father Malcolm Ishida?" he inquired, holding his icy gaze on the two.

A look of both confusion and suspicion crossed Matt's face and he glanced over his shoulder at T.K. 

"Do you know this guy?" he whispered. T.K. only shook his head no. Matt decided that he didn't like the looks of the present situation. This guy gave him the creeps.

"No." Matt lied, returning his attention to the elderly man.

The man started to look him up and down, trying to judge whether he should believe the boy or not.

"Start walking T.K." Matt said out of the side of his mouth. T.K. obliged and slowly took a step backward, turning on his heel. He started to walk in the opposite direction they had come.

"Sorry sir." Matt shrugged as he quickly moved to catch up with T.K. The man never took his eyes off the two boys and Matt could feel his stare burning into his back. This only made him want to walk faster.

"He was lying." The man commented. The driver turned to face him.

"You want me to go after them?" 

"No, we'll take care of this soon enough." The man smiled evilly, revealing a toothy grin.

Once the brothers rounded the corner, T.K. stopped and leaned back against the wall.

"Who was that weirdo?" he asked.

"I don't know. I wonder what he wants with Dad?" Matt queried. T.K. only gave him a shrug.

"Maybe it would be better if we went back to my house." T.K. suggested to his brother, who was obviously lost in thought judging by his blank stare.

"Huh?" Matt said shaking his head. "Oh, yeah okay." He agreed, and the two set out for T.K.'s house.

By the time they had reached the house, the sun had begun to set. Matt gave the house a questioning look as they approached it. He still felt awkward about seeing his mother, after all…_she_ was the one who left his dad. Matt stopped a few feet from the porch and began to scan the ground. A chilly gust of wind forced him to shove his hands into his pockets. It didn't occur to him until after he left the apartment, that a jacket might be a good idea. T.K. reached for the door knob as he wiped his feet on the welcome mat. He glanced over his shoulder to see his brother standing and looking forlornly at the ground.

"You coming Matt?" he asked, with a hint of concern relevant in his voice.

"Uh, no. I don't think so T.K. It's getting pretty late…I should be heading home." He replied, his cobalt blue eyes finally meeting with T.K.'s.

"Well, maybe mom could give you a ride home, then you won't have to walk." He cheerfully suggested.

"No." Matt said shaking his head, "It's fine. Sorry it wasn't much of a day…was it?"

"Hey at least I got to spend some time with you. Are you going to be busy tomorrow?" T.K. replied.

Matt folded his arms and thought for a minute, "Actually, I'm not."

"Great, then let's re-schedule for tomorrow!" T.K. smiled.

"Sure kid." Matt said, a smile crossing his face. This made him feel a little better, and at least T.K. hadn't begged him to go inside. Matt waved good bye to T.K. and leisurely strolled back down the street towards home.

Malcolm Ishida yawned and leaned back in his chair. He stretched his arms and brought them to rest behind his head. Suddenly, his telephone rang. Startled, he managed to tip his chair backwards, sending himself crashing to the floor. Malcolm placed one hand on his desk and hoisted himself back up. He grabbed the receiver and quickly brought it up to his ear.

"Hello."

There was no answer.

"Hello." He tried again.

"Malcolm Ishida?" a gruff voice answered.

"Yes…" Malcolm replied, trying to figure out who the caller was.

"Still a reporter I see."

Malcolm picked up the base of the phone and cautiously walked towards the window with it.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked as he glanced out the window suspiciously. "Who is this?"

"Oh, Malcolm…I'm hurt. You really don't remember me? Well, I remember _you_!" the voice snapped.

"Why don't you stop playing around and tell me _who_ this is!?" he replied angrily.

"Can you think of the most important thing in your life right now?" the voice asked.

"Is this a joke?" Malcolm retorted.

"Oh no, Malcolm, I never kid about matters such as this." He hissed. "Just think about the question…what is the most important thing in your life? Surely you can think of something…or some_one_." He continued. The last lines sounding rather sinister.

"I-I don't know." Malcolm answered.

"Really? What a shame…well then I guess it won't matter, now will it!" the voice spat back, his tone growing all the more louder and angrier.

"What won't matter!? What are you talking about?? Just who the hell is this!?!"Matt's father shouted into the phone. This call was seriously disturbing him.

"I can think of a few years back Malcolm! I've had plenty of time to THINK!!" the line was silent for a few seconds. "Have you any idea what it is like to have the most important thing in your life taken away!?" the voice shrieked.

"I..uh-" Malcolm started, but was interrupted by the strange caller.

"FREEDOM! Malcolm. That's what was taken away from me!"

Mr. Ishida jerked the phone away from his ear as the person on the other end slammed it back down on the receiver.

"Hello?"Malcolm asked, but all he heard was static, then a click, and then came the dial tone.

Malcolm slowly placed the phone back on the receiver. He looked at it like it was going to explode.

"What was that all about?" he questioned, scratching his head.

He he…you'll just have to wait for chapter 2 to see what happens next! It should be up soon…hopefully. Sorry, this does seem to be a rather short chapter. I really like how this fic's coming along, so I'm not going to give up on it pre-maturely. R+R ppl!


	3. Chapter 2

T

Author's Note: Well, here it is. The next chapter, as promised. Hope ya like!

Disclaimer: *sighs* Not mine…blah blah blah…for entertainment purposes only….blah blah blah…don't sue. ^_^

Rating: Eh…PG-13 probably.

T.K. carefully shut the door behind him and crept down the hall in his socks.

"T.K.? Is that you?" his mom shouted from the kitchen. T.K. cringed; he hadn't wanted to get caught.

"Yeah mom, it's me!" he called back.

"How was your day with your brother?" she asked, making her way to the front room.

"It was okay. We're going to hang out tomorrow too. We couldn't do much with it raining." He replied, giving her a fake smile.

"As long as your room is spotless, I don't mind you going. By the way, did your grab the mail on your way in?" she asked, kissing him on his forehead.

"Mo-om!" T.K. whined, using his sleeve to wipe his forehead. "No, I didn't get the mail!"

Nancy giggled, "Can't I give my son a kiss?"

T.K. rolled his eyes and let out a long sigh. "I'll go get it." he said as he slipped his shoes back on and opened the door.

"Thanks honey." She chirped.

T.K. only shook his head, his mom could be so embarrassing sometimes. T.K. trotted over to the mailbox and pulled out a handful of envelopes. He casually sorted through them on his way back to the house.

"Junk, junk, bill,…hmmm…this one doesn't have a return address." He observed as he lifted it up so that it was at eye level. It was a plain, white envelope. His mother's name was printed on the front. "It must have been hand delivered," he concluded, "there's no stamp or post mark on it."

T.K. tossed all the junk mail into the wastebasket by the door as he walked in. "Here Mom, this one's for you." He announced, handing the letter to her. "I'll be in my room okay?"

"Sure dear." His mother nodded. She flipped the letter over and lifted the flap up. Nancy withdrew a small piece of folded up paper from the envelope. After a few seconds, her eyes widened in shock.

"What…who…"she said shaking her head in disbelief. "T.K.!!!" she called.

The young boy came bounding out of his room, "Yeah Mom?"

"You're staying home tomorrow, I don't want you going out."

"But Mom…" he argued.

"No, I've made up my mind. It's final. You're staying home." She said with her arms folded.

"But we had plans…" he continued.

"Don't argue with me mister." She said eyeing him.

T.K. knew _that_ look, he didn't dare say anything afterwards.

"Call your brother and tell him you can't make it." she said directing him towards the phone.

"Alright." T.K. sighed.

The next day was spent in complete boredom for T.K. Not only did his mother forbid him to go anywhere, she kept him busy all day with chores. He'd already scrubbed the floors, vacuumed, watered the plants, washed the breakfast dishes, and cleaned his room, all by lunch time.

T.K. plopped down on the couch in exhaustion. "T.K.!" his mother called.

"What now!?" he moaned and slowly rose to his feet.

"Here, take the trash out." She said handing him a filled garbage bag.

T.K. yanked it from her grasp. "Anything else?" he asked sarcastically. She gave him a concerned look.

"Look, I have my reasons for not letting you see your brother. Please, just cooperate with me today." she all but pleaded.

T.K.'s natural good-heartedness took over and he accepted defeat. Maybe he could see Matt another day.

"Sorry Mom." He said, his tone softening. She smiled at him.

"When you're done with that, you can take a break."

T.K. proceeded out the front door and headed towards the drive-way. It was such a beautiful day, he mused. The sun was out and birds were chirping. Now he wished more than ever he could be spending it with his brother. T.K. stood in the drive-way for almost five minutes day-dreaming before he remembered what he was supposed to be doing. He lifted the lid off the trash can and began to hoist the big black bag into it.

T.K. stopped and turn his head suddenly when he heard the screeching of car tires as the same black car from the day before came reeling around the corner. He jumped back, narrowly dodging the front fender as it lurched into his drive-way. A behemoth of a man stepped out of the car and reached out for T.K. The boy stumbled backwards trying to escape the large man's grasp. A gigantic hand shot out and grabbed him by his shirt collar, lifting him into the air with little effort.

"MO—!!" he began to scream, when another hand clamped over his mouth. T.K. fought and struggled as best he could, but the large man overpowered him. Before he knew it, he was thrown into the back seat of the car. His head slammed into the window on the opposite side from which he was flung. T.K. winced and clutched at the back of his head. His captor jumped in after him and shut the car door.

"Got him!" he grunted to the driver and the car peeled out of the small drive-way.

T.K. looked up at the big man that sat next to him. His entire being flooded with panic and fear.

"Who are you!? What do you want with me!?" he screamed. This little outburst caused him to receive a back handed slap from the large man. T.K. covered his face and squeezed his eyes shut just as they began to tear up. When he withdrew his hands, they were covered in blood. His nose was bleeding, he realized.

"Hey take it easy Mac!" the driver hollered. "The boss wants him in one piece!"

"Just keep driving!" the large man boomed, making the whole car vibrate with the sound of his voice. "You don't tell me how to do my job, and I won't tell you how to do yours."

A few blocks later, the vehicle came to a stop at a red light. T.K. figured that now was the perfect opportunity to try and escape. He reached for the handle on the door and shook it wildly.

"Knock it off!" the large man warned, a small smirk spread over his face. "Child safety locks." He pointed out before raising his hand to strike. T.K. began to pound on the windows in an attempt to draw the attention of other motorists. This time when the man's hand came down he clenched T.K. by the throat and shoved him against the window. Tears began to well up in the boy's eyes and for a slight second the man felt some sort of sympathy for him, but all that vanished in the blink of an eye. The man whom the driver addressed only as "Mac" watched as the blood from T.K.'s nose oozed down his hand and onto the car seat. T.K. was relieved when the man did not tighten his grip. After a few seconds he released his vice-like hold and T.K. slumped down in his seat.

"Can I at least know where you are taking me?" he asked fearfully, wiping at the blood with the back of his hand.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll know the area quite well when we get there." He replied, the same evil smirk crossing his lips a second time.

"Relax kid," the driver began, "cuz your brother's gonna be joining you soon."

"My brother!?" T.K. exclaimed, "You better leave him alone!" he yelled furiously.

"And what are you gonna do about it squirt!?" Mac laughed.

T.K. clenched his fists and gnashed his teeth; no one was allowed to call him "squirt" except for Matt. Before he knew what he was doing his fist flew up into the face of a very surprised Mac.

"Dammit!!" Mac yelped in pain. His hands flew up to shield his face from any further onslaught.

"What happened?!" the driver yelled, swerving to the side of the road.

"That little bastard hit me!" he exclaimed. Mac rolled his tongue around inside his mouth and winced a few times before spitting something out into his open palm.

The driver whirled around to see what all the commotion was about, "Something for the tooth fairy?" he chuckled.

"Shut up and drive!" Mac boomed. The driver's face went pale and he immediately turned back around and placed his hands on the steering wheel.

Mac glared at T.K. and held up the tooth for him to see. The young boy sat back in amazement, he was rather proud of himself at that particular moment. He didn't realize how good of a hit he had gotten in, though his hand started throbbing as the after effects began to set in a few seconds later. The driver rounded a corner and stopped outside of a tall building, which T.K. recognized immediately.

Mac began to approach T.K. and the boy flattened himself against the car door, trying to escape whatever punishment he was about to receive.

"An eye for an eye," Mac snarled, "and a tooth for a tooth." Just as he was about to lunge at the boy, the driver hollered out that they had arrived at their destination.

"I'll deal with you later." Mac growled. T.K. gulped. Mac exited the car, and T.K. could only watch in horror as he approached the complex. There was no way he could warn Matt. He felt completely useless. The blonde boy hung his head in defeat, he almost wanted to cry, but felt compelled not to show weakness around his captors.

Upstairs, Mac had completely trashed the Ishida's apartment in search of Matt.

"Where is he!?" the large man exclaimed, glancing around the disheveled room. He turned towards the door and lumbered back down the hall into the elevator, not even bothering to shut the front door on his way out. T.K. sat very still in the backseat of the car, until he witnessed some movement out of the corner of his eye. He immediately dove towards the car window and peered out, relieved to see Mac exiting the building without his brother in tow.

The dumpster lid slammed shut, and Matt leaned up against it and wiped his brow. He let out a long sigh and brushed his hands on his pants.

"I hate trash day." He remarked to no one in particular. A loud crash jolted him to his feet and he whirled around in time to see a mangy looking cat trotting out of an overturned garbage can. A scowl crossed his face and he just sat there shaking his head. He had been in a sour mood the entire day and it was all because of T.K. Matt watched as the cat hopped up to the large dumpster in two fluid leaps.

"What kind of lame excuse is that anyway?" Matt said to the cat, who was busy licking its paw. He slammed his fist into a pile of empty cardboard boxes piled up next to the dumpster. The cat jumped and nearly fell off the green lid of the large bin. Matt let out a small laugh. "Now I guess we're even." The cat pulled itself back to its feet and composed itself once again on the top of the bin. It watched him intently, as if it was expecting another outburst.

"I mean he was the one complaining that we never spent time together, and then he turns around and tells me he can't make it today. And for what?" he addressed the cat, throwing his arms up in the air. "Because his room wasn't cleaned? Somehow I don't think he was being honest with me…how long does it take to clean a room??" The cat had finally lost interest in Matt's ranting and was preening itself again. "Aw, the heck with it!" Matt sighed, turning back towards the street.

T.K. was the first to notice his brother coming around the corner of the building, his voice caught in his throat. He didn't want to alert his brother on the chance that he would also reveal his location to Mac, then again what if Mac had already seen him…but what if he hadn't? T.K. shot a glance back at the large man who was approaching the car. Mac took one look at T.K. whose facial expression immediately gave away what he was trying to conceal. Mac glanced over his right shoulder to see Matt heading his way.

"Perfect." He grinned.

"NO!" T.K. shouted and began to pound his fists on the window.

"Hey! Pipe down back there!" the driver yelled, but T.K. wasn't about to listen.

Matt, who had been concentrating his attention on the ground, quickly looked up when he swore he had heard the sound of his brother's voice. He froze in his tracks and stared into the back window of the car parked at the curb. That was T.K.!

"Matt look out!!!" his brother screamed.

"Wha-?" he started to reply, when someone tackled him to the ground. Matt hit the concrete hard, it felt as though an elephant had landed on him. He scrambled to get back up, but soon found out how impossible it was. The large man had him pinned to the floor. He slowly rose to his feet, bringing Matt with him. The boy started to struggle a bit, but stopped when two large arms linked around his. Mac jerked him around to face the car and Matt winced in pain. His arms were pinned behind his back and Mac was applying pressure, which caused them to stretch painfully inwards.

"You gonna stop?" Mac hissed.

Matt jammed his foot down on top of Mac's, making the big man release his grip.

"I hate kids!" Mac exclaimed, holding his sore foot.

Matt took this opportunity to run, even though he hated to leave his little brother behind, he knew that the two of them being kidnapped would not help the situation.He took one last fearful look at T.K. before tearing down the street. Mac quickly recovered and began pursuit. He signaled to the driver to take off.

Matt's heart was pounding in his chest, he couldn't remember a time when he had been so scared and so confused. He continued to run until he reached the corner where he was about to cross the street, when the black car zoomed up and met him at the curb. Matt swung a quick right and pounded up the block, he could hear footsteps echoing behind him and this only served as an incentive to run faster.

The blonde boy knew if he stayed on the main sidewalk, the car would still be able to catch him, so he turned down the first alley he could find. Every couple of feet he would toss garbage cans, boxes, and anything else lying about, in the path, hoping that this would stall the larger man so he could get away faster.

Meanwhile, the black car careened around corners and zipped through stop lights in pursuit of the teenager. T.K. was thrown to and fro in the back seat due to his lack of a safety belt. He finally latched on to the back of the driver's seat and held himself there. If he could stop the driver, then maybe he'd be able to escape, he thought.T.K. reached over the seat and wrapped his arms around the man's neck.

"Let go you little-!" the driver responded, swerving left and right. He knew he couldn't take his hands off the wheel.

"Stop the car!!" T.K. yelled.

"No!" the driver replied stubbornly. Eventually, one of them would have to give.

Terrified motorists swerved their cars out of the way, in an attempt to dodge the runaway vehicle. T.K. held the man's neck with one hand and used the other to grab onto the steering wheel. He desperately fought for control of the vehicle.

At the same time, Matt was dealing with his own crisis. He had come to a dead end in the alley.

"Shit!" he cursed, as he gazed up at the brick wall prohibiting his escape. He glanced back over his shoulder to see Mac closing in.

"I can do this!" he encouraged himself and took a few steps back before launching himself into the air. Matt had managed to reach the top of the wall and was holding on by his fingertips. He tried to use his feet to propel himself up the wall, but it was not working. He then moved his hands around until he had a better grip and then swung his lower body up until he had made it over the wall. He jumped down to the other side, landing on his feet.

"There's no way that guy will be able to scale that thing." He said to himself. However, on the other side, Mac began to push one of the large, green dumpsters up against the wall. He then climbed to the top and gazed down over the wall. Matt stared up at him in horror.

"Oh sure, I had to do it the hard way!" he exclaimed as he moved to get away. Matt sprinted out of the alley and onto the street again, just as the black car came barreling around the corner.

T.K. now had his hands over the driver's eyes.

"I can't see!" he said, swatting at T.K.'s hands and trying to steer at the same time.

At that moment, T.K. looked ahead in terror. His brother was standing in the middle of the road.

"STOP!!!" he wailed, releasing his grip. The driver's eyes went wide as he slammed on the brakes.

Matt froze again in fear, everything was happening so fast his body did not have time to react. In one direction was the car, and in the other Mac. He was brought back to his senses when he heard the panicked shouts of his brother.

"MATT GET OUTTA THE WAY!!" T.K. screamed.

His brother had started to move, but it was too late. The car smacked into him, sending him flying up and into the windshield. Upon impact, the glass cracked and spider webbed in a thousand directions. The driver looked on in horror as blood splattered over the shattered glass. T.K.'s stomach lurched as he heard the sickening thud of his brother's body tumbling off the front end of the car and back onto the street.

The driver opened the door and jumped out. T.K. quickly climbed over the front seat and staggered out of the car. He could hear his heart pounding in his head as he stumbled over to where his brother lay in a heap on the side of the road.

"M-Matt…" he said weakly before collapsing to his knees.

Oh no! What have I done! *grins evilly* Don't ya just hate cliffhangers? Well, R+R and I'm hoping to post the next chapter soon! And if I don't I apologize now, cuz I'm working on this and another story at the same time.


	4. Chapter 3

Nancy Takaishi looked at the clock on the wall nervously

Author's Note: Behold, my chapter of Yama-Trauma!! This gives everyone fair warning! Lol. A little T.K. angst in here as well, but very little. I apologize for taking so long to post this, but with the recent tragedy going on, well you know…it's not something I can ignore. I've been watching the news non-stop the past couple of days, so writing hasn't been top priority, but I'm trying. My prayers go out to all the families and victims of this horrible act of violence. God bless America, heck God bless everyone! We all need it!

Rating: R, for violence.

Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, yeah, so I don't own Digimon. Sue me! *blushes* he he, just kidding.

Nancy Takaishi looked at the clock on the wall nervously. T.K. had been gone far too long to just take out the garbage.She bit her lower lip in apprehension, then started to make her way outside. She wouldn't be in the state she was in if it hadn't been for that letter she received the day prior. It was so strange, almost as if it had been a threat, but she was sure _he_ was still in prison.

Nancy stopped in the driveway and clutched her chest. The evidence was all right there in front of her. The overturned trash can and the black tire skid marks leading up to her driveway.

"No." she squeaked, her voice catching in her throat. She ran hysterically back to the house. Bursting through the door, she rushed to the phone to dial the police, but before she could press any buttons a dreadful thought occurred to her. She immediately pulled out her phone pad and ran her finger down the list of numbers until she came to the right one. She dialed it with trembling fingers, then waited as it rang.

Malcolm Ishida, who had just been called out on assignment, was making his way out the door of his office when the phone rang. He turned back around on his heel and stood by the phone, debating on whether to answer it. It might be that caller again, he thought. He hesitated before finally picking it up.

"Hello?" he half way greeted, half way questioned.

"Malcolm?!" came the desperate cry on the other end.

"Nancy?" he asked in surprise. He could tell by the tone of her voice that something was definitely wrong. "What is it?"

"It's T.K.!!" she sobbed, trying with some effort not to scream.

"What about T.K.?" he said, concern growing in his voice.

"T.K.'s gone Malcolm! He took him!"

"Who took him? What do you mean?" he asked perplexed.

"I-I think it was…M-murphy." She choked.

"You mean…" Malcolm trailed off. The realization finally hit him. That's who was on the phone the other day.

"Where's Yamato!?" Nancy cried, she only used his full name in emergency situations. The phone went silent after that. "Malcolm!" she screamed into the receiver. This brought him back to his senses.

"Nancy, call the police." He said firmly, sounding more confident than he actually was. "I'm heading back to the house. Just call the police." He instructed her.

"Please!" she begged, "Please find Yamato! I don't want to lose them both!"

Nancy heard a click on the other end; she knew what she had to do now. Matt's father rushed out of the television station, ignoring everyone who shouted or tried to get his attention. He had more important matters to attend to. He hopped into his car, jammed the key in the ignition and peeled out of the parking lot.

T.K. sat motionless for a while, shivers creeping up and down his spine. He kept mentally telling himself that this was not happening. Mac bolted towards the scene of the accident, where the driver only stood dumbfounded with his mouth hanging open.

"What did you do!?" he snarled at the smaller man. Mac gave T.K. an icy glare. "You!" he hollered, pointing a single finger at the crestfallen teenager, "Get back into the car!" T.K. contemplated running, but at that moment he could not stand the thought of abandoning his brother's side. He quietly obeyed. Mac grabbed the driver by his shirt collar and chucked him back into the car. A crowd of concerned people began to gather. Mac ignored them entirely, and scooped Matt's body up in his arms. He was still breathing. The large man tossed him into the back seat as if he were a rag doll. T.K.'s brother landed right on top of him. He gently pushed Matt off of him and propped him up into a sitting position next to him. Even though the car had not been traveling very fast, it had only been going around roughly 30mph, it still managed to do some minor damage to his brother. When he had connected with the windshield, it opened up a large gash over his forehead. T.K. watched as the blood seeped from the wound and trickled down the right side of his brother's face. He was appalled at how his brother's body was carelessly flung into the backseat.

"Hey, be a little bit more careful!" T.K. yelled. Mac was in no mood to argue with the boy and crammed himself into the seat next to the unconscious Matt.

"Let's get outta here before anything else happens!" he sneered at the driver.

The car rolled over a bump and Matt let out a small groan. T.K. glanced over at his brother anxiously, hoping he would wake up. He reached out to touch Matt's hand and realized that it was twisted at a rather odd angle. When he picked it up to further inspect it, his brother flinched and mumbled something inaudible. From what T.K. had deciphered, he had mentioned something about it hurting. T.K. gently felt around his wrist to determine whether he had fractured it or if it was merely broken. As far as he could tell, it had been broken. T.K. guessed that it had probably occurred when Matt tried to dodge the moving vehicle. Seeing as there was little visible damage to the rest of his body, T.K. theorized that his head and arm combined, had sustained the full impact of the collision. He hoped his brother would wake soon. He had this terrible sense of guilt forming in the pit of his stomach. Looking at his brother's present condition, he wished he hadn't tried to take control of the car.

The trip seemed to last for hours. T.K. could tell that they were quite a ways from town. After a while, he slowly dozed off leaning up against his brother's shoulder. He awoke with a start as Mac jabbed him in the side with something cold. Without looking he could tell it was a gun. T.K. watched as Mac hoisted his brother out of the car. The teenager was led to what looked like a large abandoned warehouse.

"Keep going!" the driver hollered, violently shoving T.K. forward. He nearly lost his balance and fell over. He was ushered into the large building and forced into one of two empty chairs in the middle of the room. He gazed around warily, taking in all that lay before him. This proving to be quite a task, since the place was poorly lit, however, T.K. managed to make out a few recognizable objects. It was what you would expect to find in any old warehouse, minus the boxes. To his right, stood rows and rows of empty metal shelves. Directly in front of him, some hundred feet away was a forklift, and some sort of machinery with a conveyor belt. T.K. watched as Mac lazily placed his brother in the chair next to him, trying his best to arrange the boy in a sitting position. When he was done, Matt was slumped in the chair, his arms dangling at his sides, with his chin resting on his chest. T.K. looked at the wound on his forehead with concern. It was still bleeding. This reminded him of his own blood, which had dried up on his face and lips hours ago. He reached up to try and wipe some of the excess blood away, but to no avail. T.K. lightly tapped the end of his nose and winced. It had become very tender and was sore to the touch. 

T.K. closed his eyes, hoping that when he opened them this would all disappear. To his dismay, it didn't. 

"The boss wants you to wait here." The driver announced. T.K. only stared at the ground in silence.

Slowly, a tall, dark figure emerged from the shadows. The boy's knees began to tremble slightly, and he tensed up in an attempt to make them stop. As the man stepped into the light, T.K. let out a small gasp, as he recognized the scar-faced man from the day before.

"Welcome." The man smiled, "You're probably wondering why you are here?" He asked, but it sounded more like a statement than a question.

T.K. began to nod, but decided to answer with a more direct approach.

"Yeah! Why am I here?" he said defiantly, trying to sound as much like his brother as possible.

"I am so terribly sorry to have to involve you and your brother in such affairs, I mean the two of you had nothing to do with it, but…" 

"Get to the point!" T.K. said impatiently, hoping this false sense of bravado would give him the courage he lacked.

The man's eyes narrowed and a scowl crossed his face, "Such disrespect!" He started to raise his hand, but stopped when he saw T.K. turn his head, anticipating the blow.

"I see you are a lot like your mother," he chuckled, "All talk with nothing to back it up."

"Go to Hell!" he shouted, having been angered by the man's last remark. This time, Murphy did not hesitate, and sent T.K. sprawling to the floor. The boy sat up on his knees shakily, and clutched the side of his face.

"That ought to teach you a lesson boy!" the man hissed.

T.K. stared up at the man, unable to mask the fear in his eyes at that moment. Murphy approached the young blonde, grabbing him by his shirt collar; he pulled him to his feet.

"Now sit down and behave yourself appropriately, or I'll have to do something not very nice to your brother over there." He said through clenched teeth, throwing T.K. back into the chair.

T.K.'s bottom lip quivered at the idea of Murphy harming his older brother. He sat in silence as the man continued his story.

"Many years ago, your mother and father helped the police to uncover a money laundering scheme of mine. It would have all gone perfect if they hadn't gotten in the way."

T.K. suppressed a laugh, as he compared Murphy's speech to that of one of the villains from the Scooby Doo cartoons. He was just waiting to hear something like, "if it hadn't been for those meddling reporters" or something of that nature.

Murphy immediately picked up on T.K.'s efforts to hold back a small laugh.

"So you think that's funny kid!?" he shrieked, "I was sent to prison for sixteen years! Do you know what it's like to have sixteen years taken away from your life!?"

T.K. instantly regretted his actions. Murphy signaled to one of his men, who came trotting over.

"Yeah boss?" came the familiar voice of Mac.

"Wake him up." He said pointing to Matt. T.K.'s heart flooded with fear, and he shot out of his seat, but was held back by a pair of strong hands.

"Please don't hurt him!!!" T.K. pleaded, near tears. "I'm sorry!"

Mac lumbered over to where Matt was sitting and began to shake him violently.

"Wake up, you little shit!!" Mac screamed at him

Desperate tears rolled down T.K.'s cheeks, as he pleaded with the scar-faced man to make the larger man stop.

"Please! Stoppit!" he cried, jerking back and forth in his captor's grasp.

Murphy smiled at the young boy's evident fear. T.K. did not stop shouting until Mac pulled his broad hand back and slapped Matt across the face with it. He flinched as Mac's hand made contact, producing a loud smacking noise, which made T.K.'s stomach lurch. Murphy raised his hand for the large man to cease. 

Matt's eyes slowly, but surely began to open. The world was a blur to him, except for a large figure looming in front of him. He blinked a couple of times and shook his head, immediately wishing he hadn't, for this caused his ears to ring. He could feel a throbbing sensation across his face, and wondered where it had come from.

"Good morning Yamato." Murphy said sarcastically. "Sleep well?" he asked as he rubbed his hands together.

"Wha-?" Matt groaned, his throat was dry and it hurt to talk. He swallowed a few times before continuing. "W-What happened?" he said groggily, ignoring the slight discomfort that seemed to originate around his forehead.

"Matt!" T.K. cried, still struggling to break free from whoever was holding him.

Upon hearing his brother's voice, Matt's senses came rushing back to him.

"T.K.?" he said, tilting his head towards the sound of his brother. Matt saw the man holding his little brother in a tight grip and stood up to try and help him, but the minute he brought his hands up, he painfully discovered his broken wrist.

Matt winced and his knees buckled. He fell to the ground cradling his injured arm.

"Matt are you okay!?" T.K. questioned apprehensively. Abandoning his struggle for the moment and admitting defeat.

Matt took a couple of seconds to compose himself, and then stared up at his brother.

"I'm f-fine T.K. I'll be alright," he lied, hoping this answer would satisfy his little brother.

"Awww, how touching." Murphy mocked.

Matt turned his attention to the scar-faced man he hadn't noticed when he first awoke.

"You again?" he said heatedly, "Who the hell are you and what do you want!?" Matt demanded.

"You'd be wise to leave the question asking to me. Lest you want to suffer the same punishment your brother has!" he growled. 

Matt was never one to back down from a threat, and being the stubborn person that he was, invited injury to fall upon him.

"What do you mean? If you laid one finger on my brother, I'll kick your ass!" Matt yelled, looking to T.K. for any sign of injury. His younger brother quietly shook his head, warning him not to push this guy too far.

"I admire you looking out for your brother like that." Murphy said coolly, walking over towards Matt. "However, I will not excuse such insubordinate behavior. And besides, Yamato…you lied to me yesterday. I do not tolerate liars." He smiled sadistically. Matt threw up his good hand to shield himself from any oncoming attack, and T.K. could only watch in horror as Murphy reached down and grabbed Matt's broken wrist, squeezing it in his palm.

Matt let out a wail of pain. It was a sound that T.K. had never heard his brother make and his heart suddenly felt as though it were being stabbed by thousands of sharp knives. He wanted this cruel attack to stop now! Matt crumpled to the floor, curling into a semi-fetal position, and tried in agonizing pain to liberate his hand from Murphy's vice-like grip.

T.K. mustered up all his strength and managed to tear free from the man that held him. He lunged towards Murphy, knocking him off his feet and back into Mac. A final yelp was heard from Matt before the three tumbled to the floor. A few of Murphy's men quickly rushed over to help him up and to restrain T.K.

T.K. peered around the man that was restricting his movement, trying to see his brother. Matt was still lying on the ground. His entire body was shaking, as he held his injured limb. The throbbing went from the palm of his hand up the length of his arm.

"Let him go!" Murphy ordered his men. They released the younger blonde, who immediately ran to his brother's side.

"Matt?" he questioned timidly, as if the faintest sound from his voice would bring more pain to the afflicted area of his brother's body. He had never witnessed his brother this way. His teeth were gritted and his face had become a bright red from fighting back the excruciating pain that had engulfed his entire left arm. T.K. could hear him sucking air in through his teeth, in between sobs. He placed his hand on Matt's head, and gently caressed his silky, blonde hair. 

"Don't worry Matt, I won't let him hurt you anymore." T.K. said soothingly. He wrapped his arms around his brother in a protective hug and glared up at the scar-faced devil smiling back at him.

"You bastard!" he muttered, presently surprised at himself for that remark, it was the only time he could recall using such harsh language.

"Take them to more suitable accommodations." He said, flicking his wrist off in one direction. Several thugs swooped down upon the two brothers, and hauled them off down a long corridor. T.K. did not resist, seeing as they were taking great caution with his brother. They were brought to a small room. After both of them had entered, the door slammed and they could hear it being locked.

There were no windows in the small room, and T.K. guessed that it was an office at one time. There was a desk and some cabinets, but nothing else to speak of. The two of them sat on the floor huddled in one corner of the room. T.K. drew his knees up to his chest and sighed.

"How's the wrist?" he asked.

Matt ignored the question, just as he had been ignoring the pain. "Where are we?" he asked instead.

"A warehouse. I'm not sure where, but it has to be a few miles from town." T.K. replied.

Matt slowly brought his knees up to his chest as well, and gently placed his injured arm over the top of his knees, keeping it perfectly straight.

"Did they tell you why?" Matt questioned again.

"He said it was because of something mom and dad had done." 

"What?" he inquired.

"They got him arrested for money laundering." T.K. replied, "I'm a little sketchy on the details."

Matt concentrated on the injured wrist. It had begun to turn black and blue underneath the skin.

"Does it hurt much, I mean just sitting there?" T.K. shyly asked.

"Guess I won't be playing guitar for a while." Was Matt's only response.

Matt was acting awfully cold towards him, T.K. thought. Maybe it was because he knew that his injuries were all T.K.'s fault, the younger boy wondered. A wave of regret instantly washed over him again. He started to say something, but stopped when he noticed Matt probing around his forehead.

"You gotta pretty bad gash there." T.K. commented. "I think it happened when you hit the windshield…" he trailed off, not wanting to remember the incident.

After a moment or so of silence, Matt finally spoke up.

"You okay?" he asked, noting the dried up blood under T.K.'s nose.

"Better than you." He smirked, his face immediately turning to a frown when his smart little remark had no effect on the older boy.

Another minute of awkward silence passed between the two boys when T.K. finally asked, "Matt…are you…mad at me?"

Matt looked at him and sighed. "Not anymore really, there isn't a purpose now." He replied.

"But were you mad at me?" he prodded.

"Yes!" Matt stated coldly.

"How come?" T.K. asked, expecting the answer to be that he was responsible for the accident, but to his surprise, that's not what Matt answered at all.

"Why did you lie to me? Why couldn't you tell me the real reason you couldn't see me today?"

T.K.'s breath caught in his throat. He hadn't thought that Matt would be that upset over it. He figured his brother had more important things to do than hang out with him anyway.

"It was mom," he started, "she got this letter, and…she was upset. So she told me I couldn't go out. I honestly wanted to see you, but I was afraid to tell you the real reason I couldn't go. I thought…maybe you'd get mad at mom…or maybe me." he added, staring down at the pavement.

Well Matt, you did it again, he thought. You acted like a total jerk! Oh gee, there's a surprise! You deserve being hit by that car, his inner voice scolded him.

"I'm sorry squirt." Matt mumbled, this apologizing stuff should be getting easier, after all, he had done it enough times.

"It's okay. As long as you're not mad at me anymore." T.K. replied.

"No, I'm still mad," Matt sighed, "just not at you."

T.K. smiled, "Don't be so hard on yourself. Come on, let's figure out how we're going to get outta here." He said in a cheerier tone.

At least Matt could always count on T.K. being full of hope. That's why he had the Crest of Hope. It seemed like nothing could bring his little brother down. He pushed aside the pain that had inflamed his wrist, and gave T.K. a slight smirk.

"Any ideas?" he asked.

Yay! Another chapter completed! =) Thanks to everyone for all the great reviews! I didn't think this story would be as popular as it is. Well, hope you enjoyed this one, I'm hoping to get the next chapter up soon, but I always say that, maybe this time I'll mean it. lol.


	5. Chapter 4

Malcolm Ishida took the stairs two by two as he raced up to his apartment

Author's Note: Well, here it is! The next chapter of Vengeance. As an added treat I am posting two chapters! You can thank the reviewer JJ for this little suggestion. ^_^ Now don't get carried away and start asking me to post 2 more chapters or 3 for that matter. lol. This is probably the only time I'll do this for this fic, cuz I've become rather busy lately with work and other such things. Anywho, hope ya like!

Rating:Gee, I really don't know. I'll say PG-13.

Disclaimer: Please see chapter one if you have any questions regarding me owning Digimon.

Malcolm Ishida took the stairs two by two as he raced up to his apartment. Dreadful thoughts skipped through his mind, making him panic all the more.

"God let him be there!" he whispered under his breath. The older man stopped suddenly as he reached the top of the stairwell. His heart skipped a beat, as he gazed down the hall towards the apartment he and Matt called home. The door had been hanging by one hinge, and was left wide open. Malcolm cautiously made his way towards it, fearing that whoever had broken the door was still in the apartment. He silently crept into the front room, carefully stepping over upturned furniture and broken glass.

"MATT!" he called, cupping his hands over his mouth. "YAMATO!!" He expected to find his son severely beaten or stabbed and left for dead, but instead all he could find was an empty, thrashed apartment. Some small feeling inside of him was thankful for at least that. He bolted out of the apartment, leaving the door to swing on its hinge, and began pounding on the doors of his neighbors. None of them had heard any sound of a struggle or had seen Matt since earlier that morning when he went to take the trash out. They did, however, confess to seeing a large, black vehicle parked outside the complex.

Malcolm raced downstairs and into the street. He darted his head back and forth, then took off down the alley where the dumpsters were. He hadn't wanted to confirm his suspicions, but eventually gathered up enough intestinal fortitude to lift the lid off the large green dumpster on the side of the building. A sigh of relief escaped his lips, when all he found were bags of garbage and a few cardboard boxes.

Still determined to find his son, he jogged up and down the block, searching for anything that would help him locate Matt's whereabouts. He rounded the corner at the west end of the street and continued around it until he reached the east side of the block, where a crowd of spectators and police had gathered.

"Excuse me!" he said, pushing through the crowd. He finally succeeded in shoving his way to the front of the scene. Yellow police tape had an area of the street sectioned off. Malcolm glanced down to see what looked like a puddle of blood in the middle of it. He reached out and tapped one of the officers on the shoulder.

"Pardon me," he said, as the officer whirled around to face him, "but what happened here?" he asked tentatively, almost fearing the answer.

"Some kid was hit by a car." He replied bluntly.

Malcolm's bottom lip began to tremble, "D-Did they I.D. the kid? W-Was there a description?" he stammered.

"All anyone knows is that the kid was probably in his mid-teens. He was blonde with blue eyes…there were two as I recall. Someone said the other jumped out of the car and appeared very upset over it. Was wearing a funny hat, they say."

"Were they taken to a hospital, I-I mean what happened to them?" he questioned, trying to calm down a bit. Malcolm pulled a cigarette from his pocket and nervously lit it up.

"No, witnesses say a large man appeared and threw the injured kid into the car. They left without so much as a second thought."

"T.K….Matt…." Malcolm trailed off, sucking the nicotine mist into his lungs. He looked at the spot of blood in the street, and tears brimmed his eyes. For all he knew, one of his sons could be dead., or worse yet…both.

The police had arrived at Nancy's house mere minutes after she had called them. She showed them the tire marks in the driveway, as well as the letter. Nancy was taken down to the police station, and her phone was tapped, allowing any incoming calls to be received at the station.

"Don't worry ma'am," one of them tried to console her, "I'm sure we'll be able to find them."

Nancy knew it was a lie, they were only trying to make her feel better, but she gave into it. Hoping desperately that they would recover her two boys. News had spread around, and they already had a lead on the suspects. Nancy sat in a small corner all by herself, while policemen and women shuffled by her. She wept silently into a small handkerchief. A firm hand gripped her shoulder, and she looked up to see Malcolm standing beside her, his eyes red from crying.

"Why Malcolm? Why?" she sobbed, as he drew her into an embrace. "Why did they have to take our sons, why not take it out on us? We were the ones that…" she tailed off, as Malcolm quietly hushed her.

"It's going to be alright Nancy. I know how you're feeling, I would give anything to trade places with them right now, but dwelling on the negative things, isn't going to bring our sons back." He stated. Rubbing his hand gently up and down her back.

Malcolm knew he had to be strong, if not for himself and his two sons, then for Nancy's sake. He didn't want to disclose to her his findings in the street that day, and merely sat and listened as she poured her heart out to him. That was all he could do for now.

T.K. pulled open another cabinet door, and rifled through the contents inside. For the most part, all he had been finding were envelopes, paper, and other such office supplies. He glanced over at his brother to see him slowly starting to drift off into a light sleep.

"Matt." He said, rousing the older boy, "Don't go to sleep. Not now."

"Sorry kid," his brother apologized, yawning at the same time. "I can't help it, I just feel so…worn out."

"That's because you're hurt. You're body's telling you to sleep so it can repair itself." T.K. replied, pushing aside some boxes inside the cabinet.

Matt furrowed his brow and gave T.K. a kind of bewildered look that the younger boy missed seeing altogether.

Man, he's really growing up, Matt thought. There was a time when I used to have to explain everything to him, now he's the one explaining things to me. His face drooped into a slight frown, as he sat staring at the concrete between his knees. A few years back in the digital world, I didn't think T.K. needed a big brother around anymore, but it turned out that he really did need me. Now it feels as though it's happening all over again…only this time he really may not need me anymore. Matt gazed up at his younger sibling. Had so much time passed between them? It only felt like a couple of years, but T.K. was almost as tall as he was. When did that happen? Matt wondered. Certainly not overnight. How much did T.K. know about the real world, and what it's like to have to be self-reliant?

Were there still lessons to be learned from his older brother? Or had T.K. grown up so much that he didn't need to ask Matt for advice. Matt sighed as the pain in his forehead flared up again. It was a throbbing sensation. Matt squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath, waiting for it to pass. That's the way it had been for the duration they were holed up in their makeshift prison. A few minutes would pass and the pain would subside, only to come back in full force moments later. Matt didn't know how much more he could handle before he would black out again. He had been fighting it, but as the hours dragged on, it seemed to get tougher and tougher to sustain consciousness, but for T.K., he would try his best. Matt's body slowly began to relax. During his pain sessions, his body would tense up, however, now that it was gone for the time being, he could unwind once again.

"Yes!" T.K. cried cheerfully pulling a moderately sized white box from the cabinet.

Matt shifted his gaze to his brother without picking his head up. 

"This will have you feeling at least 80% in no time!" T.K. grinned and opened the white box. He produced a small orange bottle from the container and held it up to the light.

"Aspirin." He read and began to twist the lid off. T.K. dumped a couple of white pills into his palm and quickly popped them into his mouth and swallowed hard. "This would be much easier with water." He grimaced. At least the pain in the back of his head from hitting the car window would be relieved for a while. He grabbed the box and strolled over to his brother, flopping down beside him.

"Here." He said, shoving two white pills under Matt's nose. The older blonde feebly reached for them with his good hand and tossed them into his mouth. He prayed to God they would take effect soon. His wrist had joined the throbbing in his head and was now double-teaming his efforts to stay awake.

T.K. reached back into the box and pulled out a wad of gauze, some cotton balls, rubbing alcohol, and medical tape. Matt knew what was coming next, and his stomach churned in dread.

"Now hold still," T.K. instructed as he approached his brother's forehead with the cotton ball dripping with disinfectant.

Matt let out a small groan and jerked back an inch as T.K. dabbed at the gash on his forehead. He blinked back tears and spent the remainder of T.K.'s task, hissing at him, as if the alcohol were holy water, and he was some demonic spirit.

T.K. chuckled a little as he performed the small chore. When the dried up blood had all been wiped clean, he placed a strip of gauze over the wound and affixed the medical tape to it, to hold it in place.

"Thanks." Matt mumbled.

"Oh, I'm not done yet." T.K. informed him.

Matt pressed on the dressed wound with his fingertips, it did feel much better than before, he thought.He watched as T.K. walked over to the desk and opened up one of the drawers. He yanked out one of the wooden dividers and split it in two over his knee.

Matt bit his lower lip apprehensively.

"Look T.K., my wrist is just fine. I can hold it straight, really." He lied. In truth he was afraid that any outside contact with his wrist would send him reeling back in pain again.

"Don't worry. Joe taught me this a few months ago. I know what I'm doing." He assured, staring into Matt's eyes for approval. Matt clenched his good fist and sighed.

"Okay, I trust you." He nodded, not wanting to show weakness around his brother. He was known for being able to handle himself in any situation, and letting his guard down now might make T.K. think less of him.

"I want to say that this won't hurt a bit, but I guess I'd be lying." T.K. said sheepishly grinning and scratching the back of his neck. "Tell ya what though, you can squeeze my arm for this part of it." he offered.

Matt looked at him curiously. "What are you going to do?" he asked, even though he knew what the answer would be.

"Well, I need to set it." He explained, "We might have had to avoid this if that goon back there hadn't…" he trailed off again as he looked at Matt's expression. He knew it was a sore subject. "Ready?" he asked as he placed both hands on Matt's arm. The older boy cupped his hand around T.K.'s shoulder, leaving his arms free to maneuver about.

"Ready." He stated firmly.

T.K. heard a loud crack, as he popped the two connecting pieces of bone back into place. He didn't have to wonder whether the experience had been painful for Matt, because the older boy was still clutching his shoulder. T.K. buckled under the pressure and started to shift his arm up and down, attempting to get Matt to loosen his grip.

"Okay, it's done!" he announced, holding back a painful cry as Matt released his shoulder. T.K. started to rub the sore area. He could feel where Matt's nails had dug into his skin, and where his fingers had left indentations. Matt slammed his head back up against the wall, breathing hard. He let out a small moan and his head lolled forward. 

T.K. worked feverishly, as he gently placed one piece of the broken wood underneath Matt's wrist, while he rested the other on top. His hands moved quickly to wrap the splint. He tugged at the bandage a little, making sure it was tight enough to hold the injury in place, but not so tight as to cause any discomfort.

T.K. used his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his brow when he was finished. He sat back on his knees to admire his handiwork. Matt picked up the injured limb and slowly began to rotate it right and then left. He gave T.K. a weak smile.

"Thanks squirt." He said, using his uninjured arm to pull his brother into a small embrace.

"You're welcome." T.K. replied, patting Matt on the back.

"You should take care of yourself now." Matt said, pointing out the dried blood on T.K.'s face. His younger brother smiled in satisfaction, and proceeded to clean himself up with a few alcohol pads.When he was finished with that, he carefully placed all the contents back into the white box, hoping that they would not be needed again, but in the event that they were, they would be ready.

T.K. sat down next to his brother, who by that time was exhausted from the fight with himself to stay awake. He was laying on his side, with his good arm supporting his head, while the other lay loosely at his side. T.K. brought his knees up to his chest and let out a long relieved sigh.

"Now you can sleep brother." He whispered, as his mind began to devise an escape plan.

Closing Note: Oi! I apologize now if my writing seems to be slacking. I'm writing this stuff at close near 2a.m. I'm hoping the story hasn't lost its vigor yet, I'm not even finished with it! Well, next chapter coming up! *waves magic wand* Hey! Stupid thing doesn't work! *bangs it on desktop* Oh well, so much for that, just click on the link. ^_^


	6. Chapter 5

Nightfall had come and one of the female police officers gently shook Malcolm's arm

Author's Note: Aha! *poof* Behold the next chapter! Told ya I'd get that stupid thing to work! Hehe. Once again, I apologize now for this story turning into total crap. I'm writing off the top of my head here, because at first I had direction with this, then somewhere along the way I lost the map, so now I'm flying blind! Lol. Anyways, R+R peeps!

Rating: Hmmm…I'll take PG-13 for $1000 Alex.

Disclaimer: Ever wonder what the prefix "fan" on fanfiction means? Wow, and how about that suffix. "Fiction" Put the two together and what do you get? Come on, everyone together now!! Disclaimer!!! Hahahaha!

Nightfall had come and one of the female police officers gently shook Malcolm's shoulder. The two had fallen asleep in each other's arms. Malcolm yawned and slowly rubbed his eyes. He leaned over and carefully slipped his arm from around Nancy's shoulder to glance at his watch. It was well past nine o'clock.

"Have they heard anything?" he asked the officer hopefully.

"I'm sorry Mr. Ishida. No word yet. Maybe you and your wife…" she started to say, and then remembered that they were divorced, "Maybe you two ought to go home and get some rest. Come back in the morning." She suggested.

Malcolm sighed and his shoulders drooped. He nodded at the woman and gently began to wake Nancy.

"Nancy…wake up." He whispered.

"Hm?" she lightly groaned, her eyes coming into focus. "Did they-!?" she started to ask, and stopped when Malcolm's head shook solemnly. Fresh tears began to well up in Nancy's eyes.

"It's okay hun," Malcolm soothed, "Don't cry. They said we should go home and get some rest. What do you say?" he asked, attempting a weak smile.

"Very well." She sighed, wiping at the tears that brimmed the corners of her eyes.

Both stood up to leave, when Nancy clutched Malcolm's arm.

"Oh Malcolm…I-I don't want to go home…not without T.K. being there…"

Malcolm took a deep breath and gazed into Nancy's bloodshot eyes. He did not want to go back to his house either. For one thing, it was a disaster area, something that he did not want to be reminded of. And second, he dreaded being alone as well.

"Then, I'll come with you and sleep on the couch." He stated. Nancy let a faint smile form across her lips.

"Thank you Malcolm." She said, as the two made their way out of the station.

Matt woke up to an annoying sensation in his stomach. He gingerly lifted himself into a sitting position, with his back against the wall.

"Man, I'm hungry." He stated. T.K. raised his head to look at his older brother.

"Me too. I wonder when these guys are gonna feed us?" he replied.

"Who knows? I doubt they even remember we're here." He shrugged.

And as though his mind had been read, the door to their cell quickly swung open. Mac stood in the doorway with one hand on the doorknob and the other carrying a small brown bag.

"Here!" he grunted, and tossed the sack to T.K. "We'd hate for you to go hungry." He said sarcastically and slammed the door shut.

T.K. peered into the bag and stuck his hand in it, producing two hamburgers and two small bottles of water.

"Well, at least it's food." He commented, handing one of the burgers to Matt.

"That's your opinion." Matt retorted, as he inspected the sandwich.

"Come on, you need to keep up your strength." T.K. replied, taking the first bite. Matt watched as the younger boy chewed. "It's not that bad." He said after swallowing.

"Well, it can't be as bad as dad's cooking." He shrugged and took a bite.

In a matter of minutes, both boys had consumed the small meal and were taking a few sips of water.

"I wonder what Mom and Dad are doing?" T.K. said as he gazed up at the ceiling.

"They're probably worried sick. That's typical of parents you know." Matt replied.

"I sure hope not." T.K. answered, "Poor Mom…" he trailed off.

"Think they have any idea who kidnapped us?" Matt queried.

"I'm pretty sure they do. It's just a matter of finding us now." T.K. replied, as he removed his hat to scratch his head.

"Got any ideas on how we could get outta here?" his brother asked.

"I've been thinking about it, but none so far." He sighed. "If Patamon were here, he'd just digivolve and blast those guys." T.K. chuckled at the thought.

"Yeah, I wish we had our digimon." Matt mused.

T.K. sighed as he crumpled the paper bag up; their situation seemed to be hopeless.

"Hmmm…" Matt pondered, "We've gotten out of worse." He commented, as he rested his chin on his hand. After a brief moment of silence, in which Matt's eyes roved about the room, a thought occurred to him, which caused him to perk his head up.

He cautiously stood up, trying to avoid bumping his arm on anything and T.K. watched as he ambled over to the desk in the center of the room.

"Matt, what are you doing?" he asked, as his older brother used his good hand to hoist himself onto the desk.

Matt stood atop the desk and pointed to a large vent covering the boys had neglected to acknowledge before.

"We can get out through the ventilation system." He suggested.

"Are you kidding? This isn't the movies Matt. Do you know how small those things are in real life?" T.K. said folding his arms.

"I know that, but this is a warehouse. They use larger duct work in industrial places like this." he tried to convince his younger brother. "Come on and help me." he said, as he jumped up and tried to knock the vent out of place.

"Careful Matt," T.K. reprimanded, "you're going to fall and hurt yourself more."

"Since when did you turn into mom?" Matt playfully asked, knowing this would get a reaction from T.K.

"Hey!" he interjected, "Can't a guy be concerned for the well-being of his brother?" T.K. argued, as he stepped up onto the desk to assist Matt. What T.K. had really been thinking of is the tremendous amount of guilt he had been feeling because of Matt's injuries. He still blamed himself, even if Matt didn't.

"Yeah!" Matt cheered as the two managed to knock the vent cover off; it landed with a loud clatter on the floor.

"Shhhhh…" T.K. said, bringing his index finger to his lips.

"Like I was supposed to stop that?" Matt said sarcastically.

Both brothers froze in place when they heard footsteps approaching.

"Uh oh." T.K. squeaked.

The two scrambled off the desk and picked up the cover, Matt using one hand of course.

"What do we do with this?" T.K. asked nervously, his eyes darting all over the room, searching for some place to dispose of the evidence.

"Throw it behind the door!" his brother instructed as they carried it over to the other end of the room and propped it up near the door hinges. Just as the knob turned T.K. dove into the swivel chair near the desk, and Matt took his "cool" stance near one of the cabinets, trying his best to fold his arms without causing too much discomfort to his wrist.

"What's going on in here!?" Mac hollered as he burst into the room.

"Nothing." Matt said nonchalantly and shrugged.

"I thought I heard something!" Mac boomed, "You kids better not be trying anything smart." He warned.

T.K. smiled apprehensively at the large man, praying he didn't look behind the door.

"You must be hearing things." He offered, resting his arms on the back of the chair and staring innocently at Mac.

The large man eyed the two suspiciously before slowly closing the door.

"That was close," T.K. said, as the two let out relieved sighs.

"We'll have to be more careful." Matt replied, as he leaned up against the front of the cabinet. T.K. nodded in agreement.

"Do you think he suspected?" T.K. questioned. Matt only grinned.

Malcolm Ishida re-arranged the pillows on the couch for a fifth time that night. No matter what he did, he just could not get comfortable. The couch wasn't the problem, he knew that. What was bothering the middle-aged reporter was the fact that he hadn't the slightest idea where his two sons were. All this worry and waiting took it's toll on him. Sleep would not come that night. Malcolm sat up and tossed the blanket off him. He reached over to the coffee table and picked up his half-full pack of cigarettes. Matt had disproved of his father's addictive habit, but he could not bring himself to quit; his life was just too stressful without them, or so he thought. He cautiously navigated through the dark room until he came to the sliding glass door. Nancy would give him hell if she found him smoking in the house. Malcolm stepped out onto the balcony of the apartment building and slipped his hand into his pocket for his lighter.

The moon cast an eerie glow over the city. Malcolm stared out at the horizon, which was dotted with the radiant flicker of streetlights in the distance. A long sigh enveloped in cigarette smoke escaped his lips. He reached his hand into his back pocket and produced his wallet. With a trembling hand, he held it up and watched as a row of pictures and plastic cards cascaded out, and hung in front of his eyes. Malcolm gazed fondly at the images of his two sons. One was of him holding a newborn Matt in his arms, as Nancy smiled joyfully.Another showed a three-year-old Matt proudly looking down at his baby brother, arms folded.Then there were the more recent photos. Malcolm had never noticed before, but Matt had appeared especially poignant in these pictures. Something about his eyes…Malcolm thought. Even those pictures taken with T.K. seemed less cheerful than previous ones. A drop of water lightly splattered onto the photo, making the faces blurry. Malcolm was surprised to discover that he had begun to cry. He brushed away the warm tears that streamed down his face. His head drooped as he took the last hit from his cigarette and stubbed it out on the railing. With one flick of his fingertips, he set it sailing through the air over the balcony and down to the street below.

Nancy stood in the doorway, her eyes on her former husband. She too could not sleep. Malcolm cocked his head to the side when he heard Nancy's silent footfalls coming towards him.

"Couldn't sleep either?" she asked, attempting to make conversation.

"Yeah…" he replied forlornly.

Nancy stepped up beside him and placed her hand over his. 

"I keep telling myself, everything will be okay…" she started, when the object in Malcolm's hand caught her attention. She curiously took it from his grasp and stared at it thoughtfully. Carefully opening it, as if it were made of glass or crystal, she looked upon the contents intently.

Then, unexpectedly, she collapsed into Malcolm's arms, her entire body wrenching in sobs. Malcolm looked down at her in surprise at first, but then cradled her in his arms as she let her tears flow freely. He could not stand anymore of this. It was a misery beyond comprehension; something he had never felt before. Somehow, someway, he would get his children back; this he vowed to himself.

Mac watched as his boss opened the door to one of the offices located at the far end of the warehouse. He proceeded to follow him into the small room, along with a grungy gang of other men. The scar-faced man promptly sat in a large chair behind a desk in the poorly lit room. He rested his hands on the desktop as his eyes scanned the room of faces. Everyone looked at him in anticipation, awaiting his next set of instructions. When he did not speak for several minutes, one man was brave enough to finally question him.

"So, now what Murphy?" the man asked timidly. He was an inch or two shorter than the other men, with dark greasy hair, combed back away from his eyes. Murphy eyed him, studying his features, and evaluating the quaver in his voice when he had questioned him.

The older man pursed his lips, and seemed to be more interested in liberating the object caught in his teeth, than with answering the short man's question. After a few seconds he cleared his throat, and everyone in the room waited anxiously to hear what he would say.

"Phase one of my plan is now complete. We have the two kids in our possession." He grinned to himself, obviously pleased with how things were going so far.

"The next step is to get their parents here."

"You want we should go get 'em?" one of the men offered.

Murphy raised a hand and shook his head. "That won't be necessary, they'll come to us." He stated nonchalantly.

"Then what boss? Do we get to dispose of them then?" Mac finally inquired.

Murphy swiveled his chair to face the larger man who was currently standing in the far right hand corner of the room.

"Patience Mac, patience." He reminded the bigger man, as he wagged his finger at him. "They will all die eventually, but I want them to suffer first." He snarled sadistically.

Mac began to turn on his heel and exit the room, when Murphy interrupted him.

"Where are you going?" he inquired.

"Oh." Mac shrugged, "Just thought I'd check on the boys. Seems they decided to attempt an escape plan."

"Really?" Murphy asked, his face twisting into an expression of mock sincerity.

"Yeah." Mac stated cocking his head towards the ceiling. Murphy began to chuckle.

"How interesting, well do pay them a visit. And when you finish playing hide and seek with them, send them my way. I have a call to make." He sighed and leaned back in the chair, lacing his fingers behind his head. "The vent system…that's an old one." He snickered.

Closing Note: Getting interesting? Suspenseful maybe? Do you even care? I'm praying that the throng of ppl who've been reading this aren't disappointed. For some reason, I seem to think I've lost my edge with this story. *sighs* If anyone thinks I could improve on anything let me know! Ciao! ^_^


	7. Chapter 6

Mac burst into the small room, and as expected he discovered the vent shaft grating crammed behind the door

Author's Note: Alrighty, here's the long overdue, highly anticipated next chapter to my fic. hehe. J Sorry it's taking me so long to update, work has kept me busy lately. Anywho…ahh yeah,"Give me the beat boys and free my soul, I want to get lost in your rock and roll and drift away…" *listening to walkman right now* Muwhahaha! I love that song, I think I must be one of the few classic rock enthusiasts on ff.net.Okay, also working on my Taiora vamp fic, and if you're lucky I may be updating it along with this fic.

Oh, btw, let me know what you think of this chapter, I'm sorta lost with what I want to do w/ this. Don't worry, something should come to me shortly though.

Rating: PG-13, some cussing.

Disclaimer: *rolls eyes* Welp, if someone was gonna sue me, they'd have done it by now, but might as well slap a disclaimer on this sucker anyhow. …hey…did I just rhyme? Coolness. lol.

Mac burst into the small room, and as expected he discovered the vent shaft grating crammed behind the door. He proceeded to the center of the room and hopped up onto the desk. With his two massive hands, he lifted himself up into the shaft opening and began to crawl through it. He smiled to himself, knowing the two couldn't have gotten far since the ductwork inherently got smaller as it went on.

T.K. became increasingly cramped in their present surroundings. The young blonde contemplated on whether this had been such a good idea or not.

"Hey Matt, I want to get out of here." He whined, his eyes searching the darkness for his brother.

"Alright, T.K." Matt agreed as he shoved open the cabinet doors. T.K. stumbled out into the blinding bright light. It took mere seconds for his eyes to adjust as he and Matt scrambled to the open door.

"How'd you know he'd come after us?" T.K. asked the older blonde as they stealthily crept down the long corridor.

"I didn't." Matt grinned sheepishly, "But I figured it was worth a shot."

The two teenagers reached the end of the hall and abruptly stopped. T.K. flattened himself against the side of the wall and poked his head around the corner.

"It's clear." He whispered, stepping out into the main section of the warehouse. Both boys gazed around warily as they walked towards the rows of shelves nearest the west wall.

"I think we came in through this way." T.K. said, pointing past the shelves to a set of double doors.

"Are you sure?" Matt asked skeptically.

"Not really, but those doors have to lead somewhere." T.K. reasoned.

"Nice logic bro." Matt retorted.

"Well, whatever we do, we'd better make it quick before Mac finds out we aren't in the ventilation system." T.K. reminded him.

Matt and T.K. picked up their pace, as they ran down the rows of shelves. T.K. stopped suddenly, his eyes darting up to the ceiling.

"Uh, Houston we have a problem." 

"What is it T.K.?" Matt inquired, backtracking to where his brother stood almost in a trance. He brought his eyes up to see a security camera mounted on the wall.

"Uh oh." Matt grabbed his younger brother by his shirtsleeve and hauled him off toward the set of double doors.

"We have to get out of here now!" he instructed, as he reached for the handle of one of the doors, momentarily glancing back to make sure no one was following them.

"Matt!" T.K. hollered, as the older blonde felt a hand clamp down over his. He whipped his head back around to see the disturbing image of the scar-faced man. Murphy reached out and grabbed Matt's injured limb, pulling it around his back.

The older blonde winced in pain, but fought back the urge to cry out, not wanting to show weakness in the face of his enemy.

"Run T.K.!!" he screamed, ignoring the fresh pain as he violently jerked in Murphy's grasp.The younger boy turned to run in spite of the knot that had begun to twist in his stomach.

"I advise against that Takeru!" Murphy hissed, reaching down at his hip and producing a long, deadly looking knife that gleamed in the radiance of the fluorescent shop lights. T.K. whirled around to see the gray-haired man holding the knife just inches from his older brother's throat.

"Yamato!" he cried, a sense of complete fear and terror penetrating his every fiber. His face twisted in disbelief.Two large familiar hands clutched his shoulders, securing him in place. T.K.'s head began to reel with horrific thoughts, as he stood entirely absorbed with the scene playing out in front of him.

"Mac." Murphy signaled the larger man with a nod from his head.Mac inserted his hand into his coat pocket, while keeping one hand on T.K.'s shoulder. It wouldn't have mattered either way, seeing as T.K. wouldn't move from his current position, even if he were able to.

Mac pulled out a small cell phone and jammed it into T.K.'s open palm.

T.K. stared at the small device and glanced up at Murphy, his bottom lip slightly trembling.

"W-What do you want me to do with this?" he mumbled.

"I want you to call your parents." He sneered.

T.K. slowly dialed his father's cell phone number, his hands somewhat shaky in the process.

Malcolm Ishida nearly jumped out of his seat when his cell phone began to ring. He slipped his hand into his pocket and produced the small phone, nearly dropping it in his excitement.

"Hello?" he said drowsily.

"D-Dad?" T.K. stuttered, as he watched Murphy place the knife back in the holster at his hip.

"Oh my God!" his father blurted out. Nancy peered around the corner from the kitchen curiously.

"Who is it Malcolm? Is it them?!" she asked, gripping the door frame.

"T.K., are-are you alright? Is your brother with you? Is he okay?" the questions began to pour out, as his father waited anxiously for his reply.

"I—" T.K. started to say, but was interrupted when somebody ripped the phone from him. 

"Hello Malcolm. Remember me? We were having such a nice chat the other day." Murphy uttered into the receiver.

"You son-of-a-bitch! What did you do to my sons!?" Malcolm shrieked into the phone.

"Malcolm!" Nancy cried, new tears brimming in her eyes. She wanted to know what was going on, and hearing the distress in her ex-husband's voice only served to torment her further.

"I assure you, your sons are fine…for the moment." He hissed.

"You bastard!" Malcolm shouted, as Nancy ran to his side.

"Now, now Malcolm. I'll not have such language on this phone. Continue making remarks like that and I shall be forced to do something you won't like." Murphy said, his voice dripping with venom.

"Where are they? What do you want with them?" Malcolm demanded, shifting the phone from one ear to the other. 

"Don't be so naïve Malcolm. You know all too well why I've kidnapped them. Revenge of course."

"But they've done nothing to you! They're just kids!" Malcolm pleaded, raising his hand to his forehead.

"That means little to me Malcolm. All that matters is that they are your kids…well you and Nancy's kids." He chuckled.

"When I get a hold of you…" Malcolm threatened.

"Listen Ishida! I'm tired of playing phone games! Don't you ever threaten me!!" Murphy screamed into the phone heatedly. This reaction startled Malcolm and he almost dropped the small apparatus.

In Murphy's anger, the scar-faced man began to squeeze Matt's wrist, causing the teenager to buckle under the pain. He dropped to his knees, with Murphy's vice-like grip still on his wrist.

On the other end of the phone, Malcolm heard Matt groan as if he were in some sort of discomfort.

"Matt!?" he cried in panic. "What are you doing to my son!?"Nancy pulled Malcolm's arm down, so that she could hear the phone conversation better.

"That was just a lesson to you Malcolm. Don't piss me off." He spat, as he began to regain his cool. He slowly released his grip on Matt's wrist and shoved the boy forward, who was intercepted by Mac.

"I'm going to tell you where to meet us, and I don't want any cops involved, or I'd hate to be responsible for what happens to your beloved sons." Murphy explained vehemently.

Malcolm drew in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "O-Okay."

A few seconds later, he hung the phone up and placed it in his pants pocket.

"Malcolm?" Nancy managed to squeak, as tears streamed down her face. "Where are our boys? Are they okay? Did he say anything…"

The dark-haired man brought his hand up to silence her. "They'll be alright, as long as we meet them outside of town at 4p.m. this afternoon."

Nancy looked into Malcolm's eyes. She stared hard at him for what seemed like an eternity.

"You know what's going to happen if the police don't intervene." She stated, her bottom lip quivering.

"I know." He replied, running a shaky hand through his hair.

"Then what are we going to do Malcolm?" she asked, biting down on her lower lip to steady it.

"We'll have to call the police, there's no other way." He stated.

"But…if we do…he might…" her voice lowering. A grim expression crossed her face. "Oh Malcolm, what are we going to do?" she sobbed.

Malcolm didn't answer. He reached into his pocket and pulled his cell phone back out. Nancy watched as he began to dial the police station.

Murphy tossed the phone to one of his associates and briskly walked over to where Mac was holding Matt and T.K.His eyes fell on Matt's pitiful expression as he cradled his tender, injured limb with one hand.

"There will be no more escape attempts from you two!" Murphy shouted. T.K. squinted his eyes, as the volume of the sinister man's voice made his ears ring. Before he even had a chance to re-open them, a stinging blow to his face sent him stumbling sideways, nearly knocking him off his feet.

"Hey!" Matt yelled, disregarding his throbbing wrist. His good hand balled up into a fist as he angrily glared at the gray-haired man.

Murphy's hands shot out and latched onto Matt's shirt collar. He pulled the boy in closer, so that their noses nearly touched. Matt tried to turn his head away. He could smell the nauseating stench of tobacco on the man's lips. 

"You better just keep your damn mouth shut, unless you want your other arm to match that one!" he sneered, bringing his gaze down to the broken limb and quickly back to Matt.

The older blonde decided, however, that he would not be easily intimidated by the scar-faced man, and held his ground.

"Don't you ever touch my brother again!" he hissed back into Murphy's face, a determined look of resolve setting over his features.

"You're treading on thin ice boy." Murphy warned, as he drew his hand back to strike.

"Matt!!" T.K. screamed, breaking the heated moment between the two. He didn't want Murphy to harm his brother, and he knew how stubborn Matt could be at times. "Look Matt, I'm alright. See." He pleaded, trying to convince his brother that the sudden attack hadn't left any visible damage.

Murphy gradually loosened his hold on the older boy's collar. "I'll let this slide this time…but the next time you mouth off to me…" he threatened, "well, there won't be a next time will there?" He asked, placing his hand over the knife attached to the side of his hip.

"No sir." Matt uttered, casting his eyes to the floor angrily. 

"Good boy." He cooed, making Matt all the more angrier.

"What should I do with them now boss?" Mac interrupted, still firmly grasping T.K.'s shoulder.

"Let's separate them for now. They seem to stir up too much commotion when they're together." He smirked, as Mac shoved the two boys in the direction of the long corridor from which they came.

"Vanni." Murphy said, coaxing a tall, wiry looking man over with his index finger. Vanni wore a pair of black slacks, and a grungy white tank top. His right shoulder bore a tattoo of a flaming skull with a dagger driven down its center. He was an inch or so shorter than Mac, with a considerably smaller frame. 

"Yeah boss." Vanni replied, running a hand through his greasy black hair.

"Why don't you assist Mac over there." He said nodding his head towards the larger man, an evil smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Sure thing." Vanni grinned, eyeing Matt and T.K. intently.

Something about that look made Matt's stomach turn sour. The older blonde gave his brother a concerned look. T.K.'s sapphire eyes met his, and the younger boy bit down on his lower lip apprehensively.

Matt swallowed hard as Vanni slithered up beside him. He kept a cautious eye on the sinister looking man as he and T.K. were led down the hall.

Another cliffhanger, well it's not that bad. I get two days off from work! Woohoo! So hopefully I'll spend some time writing. ;) 


	8. Chapter 7

A lump had begun to form in Matt's throat, as they proceeded down the hallway

A/N: Okay I had some hesitations on posting this chapter, so thank you so much DigitalGirl562 for the encouragement. Lol. I just needed to know that this wasn't as bad as I thought. Well anywho, here it is! Ch.7 of Vengeance! Hope ya like.

Rating: Oh yeah, this gets an R rating. (violence, language, attempted rape) *shudders* Please pacify my tormented writer's soul by reviewing and letting me know that this isn't as bad as I think. ^_~

A lump had begun to form in Matt's throat, as they proceeded down the hallway. T.K. watched his brother warily as they came to the end of the long corridor. It was in the formation of a T. The younger boy glanced down one way, which was shrouded in darkness. The opposite direction, he discovered, was also void of light.

"End of the line." Mac uttered as he shoved T.K. towards the right.

"Matt!" he cried out to the older boy. T.K. felt rather strongly against being separated from his brother at this point in time. His prime concern and worst fear was that he would never see his brother again.

"It'll be okay," his brother tried to assure him, though he was skeptical regarding the whole situation himself.

Both brothers watched helplessly as they were led off in opposite directions. Matt cringed at the thought of entering the darker part of the warehouse with Vanni so close behind. His entire body tensed up in surprise, as he felt a rough fingertip slowly trace its way from the nape of his neck to his shoulder.

"Don't be so tense." Vanni whispered in his ear.

Matt's breathing began to come out in small panicked gasps as Vanni gently caressed the side of his arm. Dammit! He thought, of all the worst-case scenarios, he had to get stuck with some sort of sick-minded child molester. The blonde could only be thankful that it wasn't T.K. in his place. He tried to maneuver away from the slimy pervert, but every time he swerved over to one side, Vanni always seemed to counteract his movements.

Vanni edged the teenager on a little bit further, before they stopped outside a large metal door. Matt could barely make out the doorknob in the dimly lit hall; it was eerily quiet except for the sound of a set of keys the dark-haired man had been fumbling with. Another close encounter with Vanni made the teenage boy shudder, as the taller man snaked his hand around to open the door, his arm brushing up against Matt's injured arm.

Upon opening the door, he pushed Matt inside. The youth stumbled forward, as he cradled his broken wrist. Before he knew what was happening, or had a chance to react, Vanni had him pinned up against the wall.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Matt screamed, as he felt Vanni's lips press up against his. The blonde tried to wrench his good hand free, but Vanni held it firmly against the wall. Then he did the only thing he could think of to do, and sharply brought one of his knees up. Vanni ceased his attack abruptly and curled up into a tight ball, as tears began to stream down his face.

"Y-You little shit!" he squeaked, rolling on the floor in pain. Matt glared down at him in disgust.

"You're the shit, you sicko!" Matt yelled at him, wiping the foreign saliva from his mouth with contempt. He was inclined to kick the pervert in the ribs, but his conscience advised against it. There had been plenty of justification to warrant such an attack, but Matt was more interested in finding T.K. and escaping than seeking revenge. He had to think quickly before Vanni had enough time to recover. Matt ran his hand along the wall, searching for a light switch. His fingers made contact with a smooth protruding object, and he flipped it on.

A single fluorescent shop light engulfed the room in a brilliant glow. Matt eagerly glanced around the room to see what he had to work with. This room was different from the one he and T.K. had been forced to sleep in the first night. It appeared to be a tool room. He dashed over to one of the countertops and began to rummage through the toolboxes and drawers. He needed something to restrain Vanni with. Matt opened one drawer to find a large crescent wrench; he pulled it out of the drawer and placed it on the counter, as he searched through the rest of the drawer for some sort of rope.

Out of the corner of his eye, Matt could see Vanni slowly rising to his feet. There was no time for a plan now, he thought, as he firmly clutched the crescent wrench in his good hand. The blonde stealthily walked up behind Vanni and raised the wrench above his head menacingly. As the grimy-looking man began to turn around, Matt brought the tool down with enough force to knock Vanni unconscious. His still body crumpled to the floor at the same time Matt dropped the weapon in unexpected shock. He watched as a large welt began to form on the man' s forehead.

Matt shook his head, and took in a deep breath. It had to be done, he assured himself, though his hands slightly began to tremble.That's when he remembered that the door had to be opened with keys. The blonde knelt down and began to search the unconscious man's pockets. To Matt, this had proved rather difficult with only one hand. After a few moments of searching, he was finally rewarded when he pulled a shiny, metal key ring from the pocket of Vanni's slacks. Matt smiled in satisfaction at the dangling metallic keys before he stood back up and headed for the door.

Matt poked his head out of the doorway and did his usual check to ensure that the hall was clear. By this time, it had become routine. He quietly shut the door and locked it from the outside. Then an arrogant smirk crossed his lips as he tossed the keys up into the air and swiftly caught them, placing them into his jeans pocket. Now it was off to find T.K.

After roughly being escorted to his next area of confinement, T.K. was thrown into his cell. The young boy fell to his knees, and waited silently for the door to be slammed. He was presently surprised when nothing happened. He slowly craned his head to glance over his shoulder. Mac stood towering above him, and taking up much of the doorway itself. T.K. swallowed hard, wondering why Mac hadn't shut the door. The large man stood with his arms folded nonchalantly. T.K. rose to his feet and eyed the bulky man with suspicion.

"I told you I'd make you pay for doing this." Mac sneered, as he reached into his topcoat pocket, producing a bloodstained tooth.

T.K.'s mouth gaped open in fear, and he gradually began to back away from the disgruntled gangster.

Mac began to crack his knuckles as he menacingly approached the blonde teenager. T.K. ducked behind one of the filing cabinets in the room, as one of Mac's massive fists came crashing down.T.K. fell to the ground and his eyes widened in awe at the large dent Mac had made in the side of the filing cabinet. He quickly scrambled up as the huge man drew his fist back for another punch. T.K. noticed that the door was still open, and this would be a perfect opportunity to try and escape, that is if he weren't preoccupied with dodging blows from the incredible hulk over there. He started to sprint forward, hoping he'd be fast enough to make it out the door, when Mac's fist shot out in front of him with lightning quick speed and embedded itself into the adjacent wall.

"Whoa!" T.K. mouthed, his feet mechanically guiding him backwards. Mac struggled briefly to free his hand from the surrounding drywall, giving T.K. sufficient time to formulate a plan. He quickly dove under Mac's outstretched arm and tore out of the room and straight into his brother. 

"Matt?!" he cried in disbelief, as he helped the older boy steady himself. "How'd you escape?!" he said, his hands on his brother's shoulders.

"Look out T.K.!!" Matt yelled, as he shoved his brother to the side and slammed the door shut just as Mac was barreling toward it. The older blonde braced himself against the door with all of his weight.

"Get the keys!" he shouted to T.K. "They're in my pocket!"

After the realization that his brother only had the use of one arm, he quickly reached into Matt's jeans and pulled out the set of keys.

"Which one??" T.K. inquired, as Mac lunged at the door. Matt was knocked forward and with his brother's help, the two slammed back against the door. With their added weight they held it shut.

"Try them all!" he replied.

T.K. frantically began to search through the set of keys and discovered that they were numbered. He immediately glanced up at the door to find its corresponding number.

"Got it!!" he exclaimed as he jammed the key into the lock and twisted it.

Matt sighed in relief and backed away from the door. Both boys stared at it tentatively as Mac continuously began to pound it from the other side.

"Sounds like a wild animal." Matt commented.

"Or a hot-tempered digimon." T.K. grinned.

"Come on," his brother urged, "with all this commotion, someone's bound to come and check." T.K. nodded as the two made their way down the long dark corridor.

"What are we going to do now Matt?" his brother asked, as Matt suddenly stopped in the hallway. T.K. noticed his brother looking at a door with a sign over it indicating a flight of stairs.

"Come on." Matt said, pulling open the door with his good hand. T.K. led the way up the stairs as Matt trailed behind. Every step he took seemed to inflame his injury further, impeding their progress.

"You okay Matt?" his brother asked with concern, as he glanced back at his brother, who seemed to be focusing all his energy on his broken wrist.

"I'll be fine T.K., just keep going." He said, waving his brother on. T.K. only shrugged and continued up the flight of steps. He halted abruptly at the top of the stairs, which led them to another door. T.K. slowly pulled the door open a bit and peered out through the small crack. In either direction he saw a long platform with railing.

"It's a catwalk." He explained to Matt, who had just caught up with the younger blonde.

"Maybe it leads to the roof." Matt suggested, giving T.K. a hopeful half smile of encouragement.

"Let's find out." He said, as he fully swung the door open and the two stepped out onto the elevated platform. Matt wandered over to the edge and rested his arm on the railing as he gazed down at the vacant warehouse floor below. T.K. glanced at his brother momentarily. He knew their previous excursion combined with this one was putting added stress on his brother's injury. He could tell by the way Matt took extra precaution with his arm, and how he had slowed down in the stairwell.

"Hey Matt, why don't you stay here for a few minutes, while I go see where this catwalk takes us?" T.K. suggested, hoping he didn't sound too patronizing. As expected, Matt took his generosity with the utmost resentment.

"Look T.K. I'm fine!" he spat. Matt hated pity, especially from his brother. T.K. was younger than him, and he was supposed to set a good example. Besides that, he hadn't wanted to lose his little brother's respect. I will show him, he thought, I can do this. I don't need any help, and I don't need any sympathy!

"I know you're in pain Matt. I can see it in your face. All I'm asking is for you to give yourself a break." T.K. said, his eyes pleading with Matt's. "Please."

Matt swallowed hard before answering. "I understand your concern squirt, but…I'll be fine." He pressed.

T.K. let out a defeated sigh. He knew when it came down to it; his brother was one of the most stubbornness people he knew.

"At least take it easy." He mumbled, turning away from his brother.

Matt acknowledged his brother's last statement with a nod, and followed him down the catwalk.

Murphy glanced down at the watch on his wrist. It had been well over fifteen minutes since he had sent Mac and Vanni to escort the two boys to their new cells.

"What's taking them so long?" he grumbled. "You two!" he said, pointing to a couple more of his thugs, "Go see what the hold up is, we have to leave here shortly."

The two men scurried off to find their comrades, as Murphy cracked his knuckles in frustration.

Matt and T.K. hurried along the catwalk, until it brought them to a door, which looked to be facing the outside of the building.

"It's locked." T.K. said, yanking on the door handle. "Now what?" he gave his brother a quizzical look.

"Let's check down the other direction." He offered, pointing towards the opposite end of the catwalk. Shortly the two boys came upon another door, this one leading into the warehouse. T.K. shoved it open to find a small corridor with an elevator at the end.

"We want out of this place, not further in it." he said eyeing the elevator doors.

Matt allowed himself to lean back up against the wall, as he clutched his wrist. The painkillers had subsided hours ago. 

"Wait a minute?" T.K. said, a revelation coming to him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the set of keys he had gotten from Matt earlier. "Stay here," he instructed his brother. Matt merely nodded; he was in no condition to argue with T.K. He waited until T.K. rounded the corner before dropping to his knees. He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth, in an attempt to suppress the pain surging up and down his arm. Matt inhaled deeply a few times and tried to compose himself before his brother returned when he heard some muffled voices. The older blonde rose to his feet and cautiously crept out of the corridor onto the catwalk. He edged closer to the railing and crouched down, peering at the once empty warehouse floor.

"The boss ain't gonna like this you guys." One of the men said to Mac.

"Shut up man!" Vanni sneered, holding the side of his head that Matt had hit.

"When I get my hands on those little…" Mac began.

"Well, you better find 'em fast before Murphy gets wise." The same man advised.

"Hey Matt!" T.K. shouted, startling the older boy.

Matt began to shake his head violently. He waved one hand in the air to try and quiet his brother.

"What's wrong Matt?" T.K. asked coming closer.

"Shhhhh!!" his brother hissed, bringing his index finger to his lips.

"UP THERE!!" T.K. heard someone shout.

"Uh oh." He squeaked, freezing in place momentarily. Matt leapt up from his previous position and rushed towards his brother.

"I got it open!" T.K. hollered, as the two bolted for the door. T.K. could hear the men clanking up the metal steps leading up to the catwalk, and this only gave him incentive to run faster.

He pulled the door open and let Matt fly by him out onto the roof. He slammed the door shut and locked it from the outside, then quickly turned around to see his brother surveying the area.

"How do we get down from here?" Matt wondered out loud. The complex had not been very tall, maybe about two stories, he guessed, but still…that was a long way down.

"Matt! Over here!" T.K. called, as his brother came jogging up to him.

"What is it?" Matt asked.

"We can get down over here." He said, pointing to a line of big rigs lined up near the back wall of the building.

"You want me to what?!" Matt cried, glancing down at the row of semis, knowing all too well what his brother had in mind.

"I know it's dangerous…" he began.

Matt looked down at his injured wrist.

"Oh…" T.K. mumbled, now realizing the cause of his brother's concern.

Matt caught the look in T.K.'s eye, the look that pitied him, and he became very angry.

"Alright, let's do this!" he shouted, tucking his wrist into his midsection.

"A-Are you sure you want to do this?" T.K. asked, a tinge of guilt rushing over him.

"Of course, how else are we gonna escape!?" Matt shouted back with his usual line of bravado.

"Okay, but I'm going first." T.K. announced, thinking that if he went first he'd be able to help Matt with his landing, or at least break his fall. The younger blonde walked over to the edge of the building and gazed down at the line of rigs, parked perpendicular to the warehouse. He estimated the distance from the building to the back of the closest rig, and then slowly began to step backwards. T.K. glanced over his shoulder when he bumped into Matt.

"We're doing this together." Matt stated solemnly, giving his little brother a look that said he would not take no for an answer.

They caught each other's gaze for a split second before mentally preparing themselves for what they were about to do next. 

(TK's POV)

_This is crazy! What are you thinking Matt? This wasn't a good idea, maybe I should have suggested something else…but what…? This was our only choice…Please don't get hurt Matt, I'll never forgive myself, all of this…is my fault!! _His mind screamed at him.

(Matt's POV)

_Come on man, you can do this! Don't chicken out now, not in front of T.K. Oh, this is gonna hurt!! But you have to do this! You have to prove to T.K…_ Matt blinked and stared at his little brother…_What do you have to prove to him? You're his brother and you've always been there for him, or at least you tried to be…isn't that enough?? No, it's not! It's not!!_

_ _

Both boys turned at the sound of pounding coming from the door.

"Now or never!" Matt shouted, as the two sprinted towards the edge of the roof. T.K.'s heart pounded in his chest, as the last sounds he heard before jumping were those of gunfire reports. Matt reached the edge of the roof first and leapt up onto the block of concrete that bordered it, using it as a springboard, he pushed off of it with all the strength he had left in his legs. T.K. was right behind his brother, he watched as Matt landed on the top of the semi, quickly recovering and rising to his feet. He braced himself for impact by bending his knees slightly and tucking his arms in with his palms facing out, almost like a cat would land.

Matt hit the top of the semi with a loud thud, and was surprised to find he had landed squarely on both feet, but the added momentum of the jump sent him sprawling forward and he flopped over onto his back and rolled for a brief instant before regaining control. Using his good arm, he pushed himself up back into a standing position and glanced up to see his brother sailing through the air after him. All the tumbling about had sent tremors of pain shooting up and down his arm, but he gritted his teeth and convinced himself that he could handle it.

"T.K.!!" Matt cried out in panic, as his brother landed on top of the rig and came careening towards him. T.K. thought he had landed on his feet, but soon realized that he was rolling straight towards Matt. The collision knocked Matt off his feet and he landed hard on his stomach, pinning his broken wrist beneath it. The teenager yelped in pain and watched in horror as his brother ricocheted off him and slid towards the edge of the rig's topside. 

"NO!" Matt screamed, whipping his hand out and grasping T.K.'s as the younger boy dangled over the side of the massive truck.

The older blonde gripped T.K.'s wrist tightly, not only for fear of letting him drop; it was a good fourteen feet from the ground, but this minute act of bravery sent a throbbing sensation into his wrist, which was currently pinned underneath his upper body. That and the added weight from T.K. was enough to crush the injured arm. Beads of sweat began to trickle down Matt's face has he strained to hold back an agonizing scream.

"Matt!" T.K. cried, glancing down at the ground, which seemed so very far away.

"I'm not letting you go!" he said through clenched teeth as he struggled to hold on.

T.K. reached up and grabbed the side of the trailer with his other hand. "Alright…I'm going to pull you up, but you have to help me." Matt explained.

T.K. nodded, clutching the smooth surface of the semi's roof.

"Ready?" Matt queried, as he rolled onto his side, still clinging to T.K.'s wrist, and slid his wounded arm from underneath his chest. He painfully propped it up, so that his elbow was making a 90-degree angle. Matt intended to use it as leverage. 

"Ready." T.K. confirmed, watching with a complete sense of guilt as his brother struggled with his more than mild discomfort.

"Pull!" Matt yelled straining backwards, the adrenaline surging through his body helped to numb the pain in his arm as he applied the extra weight to it, and with the help of the splint his brother had put it in earlier, he was able to prevent any further injury. With T.K.'s assistance they successfully managed to pull him up onto the big rig's roof.

As soon as T.K. was safely back on the roof, Matt rolled onto his back and let out a long, anguished scream. Tears streaked down his already glowing red face. T.K. watched fearfully as his brother's chest heaved up and down, and short labored gasps escaped his lips. After a few moments his breathing began to calm and T.K. helped his brother into a sitting position.

"You okay?" he asked tentatively, shifting himself closer to his brother.

Matt closed his eyes, whether he was thinking about the answer or not, T.K. was unsure.

"I'm alright, nothing I can't handle." He lied, he didn't want T.K. feeling anymore pity or guilt because of him.

"Matt." Came the soft reply, the older boy hadn't even turned to face him. He was slightly taken aback when he felt T.K.'s arms wrap around his midsection.

"Huh?" he said glancing down to see the top of his brother's white cap with a few tufts of blond hair poking out from underneath it.

"Thank you Matt, you saved my life." T.K. murmured as he embraced his brother.

The older boy reached up and caressed T.K.'s back gently.

"I'd hardly call it saving your life…more like preventing a broken leg." Matt slightly chuckled. This kind of reminded him of when they were younger, back in the digital world. T.K. used to always run up and hug him. But that was when he was what…nine? And somewhere in the back of his mind, maybe…Matt mused…just maybe T.K. did still need him.

"They're down there!!" a familiar voice shouted, and the two boys glanced back up at the top of the warehouse.

"Go!" Matt yelled, as T.K. and him scrambled up and headed toward the cab of the semi, as gunshots echoed in the distance.

Muwhahahahahaaa! And that is where I shall leave it! What did ya think? Not too bad. *shrugs* Well, I thought I'd have more time to write another chapter, but don't expect any updates too soon. *sighs* I am very very busy right now, and hardly get a chance to sit down and type. I apologize in advance, but no worries, I won't leave ya hanging too long. *grins*


	9. Chapter 8

Mac barreled through the doorway and rushed after the trigger happy Vanni Daniel Normal Daniel 2 484 2001-11-08T10:40:00Z 2001-11-08T10:40:00Z 10 3430 19555 162 39 24014 9.2720 

Author's Note: To all the peeps that've been reading my little attempt at fanfic, I sincerely apologize for keeping you waiting. It's not the last chapter quite yet, but it's getting there. ^_^ Special thanks to **sailormoonshadow**, who helped me overcome my writer's block, and my crazy partner in crime **zara**, as well as **raine** and **DigitalGirl562** for all there much appreciated support. While I'm at it I'd also like to thank **Liv** and **ThatGirl** for all the positive feedback! And to anyone I've forgotten to mention, thanx and I'm sorry I didn't remember your names…*yawns* but it is 2:30am…what do you expect, eh? I'll be sure to include you in the next chap. Okee doke? ^_^;

Rating: Anyone who's read this far needs no warning, you know what to expect. Lol.

Mac barreled through the doorway and rushed after the trigger happy Vanni.

"You moron!" he shouted, as he smacked the gun out of the younger man's hand. Vanni watched the firearm clatter to the ground, his mind suddenly flooding with panic as he felt himself being lifted off the ground by his collar.

"The boss wants them alive!!" he boomed, causing the greasy haired man to squeeze his eyes shut. He glanced up at Mac fearfully, as a dog that knew he had done bad would. A small whimper caught in the back of his throat before Mac violently flung him to the floor.

Vanni winced in slight pain, as he landed on his back. Using his elbows to prop himself up, he shifted into a more upright position. The larger man glared down at him menacingly, and Vanni turned his head downwards, almost as if he expected an onslaught of blows to come from the towering giant. Instead, Mac knelt down and retrieved the small gun. He crouched down near the frightened gangster and aimed the weapon at a point blank range in front of Vanni's face.

"You pull something like that again, without consent from me or the boss, and those brats won't be the only ones filled with bullet holes." He growled vehemently. Vanni's eyes widened and his muscles began to twitch and spasm with genuine fear as Mac cocked back the firing mechanism on the gun.

"O-O-Okay…" he stuttered, his lower lip trembling. "N-No p-problem man." Vanni stated innocently, hoping Mac would go easy on him.

Semi-formed tears began to sting the outer edges of the younger man's eyes, and he defiantly blinked them back.

"M-Mac..?" he said in a voice barely audible, as the larger man's index finger slowly squeezed the trigger of the gun. Vanni's face turned sheet white and a tingling sensation ran up and down his spine.

The wiry man flinched as the gun discharged mere inches from his face. He squeezed his eyes shut as an explosive sound echoed throughout his ears; only to be replaced by a high pitched ringing.  Mac flipped the gun around and held it out to Vanni, who cautiously reached for it, ignoring the painful ringing in his ears. Vanni carefully rose to his feet, and breathed a sigh of relief as the color returned to his cheeks.

"We've wasted enough time here!" Mac shouted to the other men who stood in a petrified state at the previous scene still playing in their minds. "Let's get down there and get those kids!" he hollered, waving his hands in the air as if to shoo the others away. In an instant the group of men scurried to the door and back down to the lower levels of the warehouse. Vanni shot one last look towards the hole where the bullet had pierced the concrete. A small tremor spread throughout his entire body, as the realization of how close he had come to certain death had finally hit him.

"Hurry T.K.!" Matt shouted, even though the gunshots had ceased moments earlier. T.K. hopped down onto the roof of the cab. He slid along the windshield and onto the hood of the big truck, where he momentarily paused and glanced back over his shoulder, awaiting his brother.

"Come on Matt!" T.K. urged, as the older boy hesitated for a split second before clutching his sore arm to his side and sliding down after the younger boy. T.K. maneuvered out of the way as Matt came to a stop next to him. His mind and body still pumping with adrenaline, T.K. latched onto the rectangular side view mirror with his left hand, and swung himself around so that he could grab the cab's door handle. From there he placed one foot onto the metal platform used as a stepladder to get into the driver's side of the truck. As soon as T.K. managed to get the proper footing, he released the mirror and agilely dropped to the ground. 

"Your turn!" he motioned to Matt. Though this was easier said than done for the older blonde. Even if he could get a hold of the mirror with one hand, there was no way he'd be able to use the other in the same fashion T.K. had.

"Tell ya what squirt." Matt reasoned, "I'm gonna try something a little different." The older boy cautiously crept along the smooth metal surface of the hood until he reached the left front fender. He carefully positioned himself, so that he was perching at the very edge of the fender. T.K. watched with slight fascination and worry.

"Here goes…" he muttered, before leaping to the ground. Matt made another almost perfect landing, except for the one arm tucked into his chest. The imbalance caused him to teeter sideways as he landed, and he probably would have fallen over had it not been for a pair of strong arms steadying him.

Matt stared into his brother's sapphire blue eyes for a brief second, almost as though he hadn't expected him to be there.

"Thanks." He muttered.

"Come on! We gotta get out of here fast! I just know they're coming for us!" T.K. reminded him. Matt nodded and the two began to race in between the line of big rigs.

"There's gotta be some place we can hide!" Matt exclaimed, trying to keep up with his brother.

"Where!?" T.K. asked, not really anticipating an answer.

Just as T.K. was rounding the corner of one of the rigs, a large hand shot out and grabbed him by his shirt collar. He was slammed against the trailer with great force, causing him to see faint images of stars.

"T.K.!!" Matt cried, lunging toward his brother, when another hand shot out and grabbed him. Murphy wrapped his arm around the older boy's neck and used his other hand to restrain Matt's good arm.

"If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." Murphy hissed.

T.K.'s eyes began to refocus, as the distorted image of Mac slowly became clearer to him. He reached up and clutched at the large man's hand that was currently wrapped around his neck.

"Didn't I blatantly request you two to behave?" the gray haired man asked. "Well!?" he screamed when neither teenager answered.

"Hey boss!" Vanni chirped, causing the older man to turn his death glare towards the wiry youth.

Vanni's posture immediately shrank back in intimidation.

"Go ahead." Murphy coaxed, "You had something to say." he raised an eyebrow to him.

"Uh…" Vanni paused, knowing his next statement would cause a great deal of vexation to his boss. The smaller man held up his wristwatch in a shield like fashion over his chest and pointed to it. "It's a little past four o'clock."

Murphy's eyes seethed with anger. "I do not appreciate tardiness." He spat.  "And I've had it up to here with you two and your shenanigans!" he said, directing the comment to Matt and T.K.

"Give me the phone!" Murphy ordered, as Mac reached into his coat pocket for the cell phone. Murphy shoved Matt forward. He stumbled a few steps before Mac wound his arm around the older boy's midsection, also holding T.K. in the same manner. He quickly handed the portable device to his boss, who snatched it up greedily.

Malcolm Ishida glanced down at his wristwatch, and tapped his foot impatiently as he stared at the group of police officers waiting by their squad cars.

"It's past four, where are they?!" Nancy blurted after a few moments of uneasy silence.

"Calm down ma'am." One of the police officers said soothingly. "They haven't called yet, so I'm sure they're on their way."

"I'm tired of waiting! I want my sons back!" she stated somewhat hysterically.

For the most part, the officers had been politely ignoring the distraught couple. Avoiding them was more like it; at least that is what Malcolm thought.

The younger policeman who had previously tried to appease the excited Nancy made his way over to his commanding officer.

"Look, I know they have to be here, but wouldn't our jobs be a little easier if they were maybe in one of the squad cars?" the younger man asked.

His commanding officer looked at him with a hint of contempt in her eyes.

"I agree with you on this one, but you know as well as I do that they must be present in a hostage situation. Why, they bothering you?" she smiled coyly.

"No," he sighed, " I just don't want to see anyone get hurt. And the way the mother goes ballistic every few seconds has me worried."

"No one said this job was gonna be easy. And as I recall an officer of the law's duties were to serve and protect." She said smugly, "So quit complaining and either serve or protect."

The young man folded his arms and slightly grumbled to himself. As a newly installed police officer he was anxious for some action. Babysitting a couple of worried parents was not exactly his idea of bringing in the bad guy. But he knew it was all part of the job.

"I'll opt to serve." He said, strolling over to the nearest patrol car and seated himself on the driver's side. From there he tuned the police scanner to an audible frequency and sat monitoring it for any news about their latest suspects.

Malcolm sighed and embraced his former wife, who was shaking uncontrollably. She feared for her son's lives as well as her own sanity. None of the police officers around them even noticed when Malcolm's cell phone went off. Of course the ringing was so quiet and muffled with the phone being in his pants pocket, not to mention the fact that the police hadn't even thought to seize the phone for further investigation.

Malcolm quickly reached into his pocket and grasped the phone. He brought it up to his ear and uttered a shaky hello.

"There's been a slight change of plans Malcolm!" the sinister voice replied on the other end.

"What do you mean!?" Malcolm said in a hushed whisper, not wanting to attract the police officers attention.

"It seems your sons enjoy playing hide and seek with my men. Such a terrible habit I'm afraid, but don't worry…we successfully apprehended them."

"If you've harmed them…" Malcolm warned.

"Now listen Ishida! I told you not to threaten me! But maybe you need a little reminder…" he trailed off and there was a few seconds of muffled voices on the line. Malcolm strained to hear what was going on.

"Dad!" T.K. blurted over the cacophony of voices in the background, one in particular Malcolm recognized as Matt's.

"T.K.!?" 

Malcolm clutched the phone fearfully as the next issue of sounds seemed to be that of a struggle and then a loud groan, followed by some shouting, and finally a voice came back on the line.

"Dad! You gotta help…" the line suddenly became full of static and Malcolm could barely hear Matt's voice as the phone cut in and out. "T.K…warehouse…guns…."

"Matt! Matt!?" Malcolm pleaded into the phone, as Nancy tugged at his arm.

"Malcolm, what's going on!?" she whispered, still keeping an eye on the oblivious group of police officers who were  a few yards away and hadn't even noticed that the couple had left them.

Another voice came on the line, replacing the distressed voice of his son.

"Now listen up Malcolm! Your sons are wearing my nerves thin, and I'd hope that you would be a little bit more cooperative than they have been. I want you and the wife to meet me at the old warehouse. You know the one. Down the old dirt road, about twenty miles from town. And I mean it this time…no cops!" he shouted and the line went dead.

Malcolm stared off into the distance as if he were lost in thought.

"Malcolm, what is it now!? Are they okay? What does he want?" she begged.

"You know what he wants." Malcolm stated in a trance-like voice that frightened Nancy. A look of pure determination finally set over his brow and he grabbed Nancy by the wrist.

"Malcolm?" she asked.

"I'm tired of playing games with this guy! I want our sons back! The police are being no help, so it's time to do things our way." He said, as he led Nancy to his car parked a few blocks from the circle of police cars. "Anyway, he said no cops were to be involved and I'm not going to risk Matt and T.K.'s lives on this one."

"But you're willing to risk yours?" Nancy inquired, her voice quavering.

"Whatever it takes." Was all he replied, before they were in the car and en route to their destination.

After an exhausting, not to mention futile struggle on behalf of the two boys, Vanni and Mac were finally able to escort them back into the warehouse. As soon as they were forcefully shoved through a pair of double doors T.K. turned to Matt, furrowing his brow in frustration.

"Escape plan number two, thwarted." He confirmed, keeping his voice at a whisper.

Matt merely stared at the ground, deep in thought, contemplating their next move. It was desperation time now. They didn't have very many options left open to them, and their parents were set to arrive shortly. By then it would be too late, and Matt couldn't let that happen…he wouldn't let it happen. His mind raced quickly, as thought after thought entered his mind, only to be immediately cast aside, as he found fatal flaws with all of them. Matt despised the feeling of being helpless. This was something that plagued his mind throughout their entire ordeal. He hated being vulnerable. The word stung him, like so many needles pricking his skin, causing a sensation of instant guilt to course up and down his spine, and burdening him with a heavy feeling in his chest.

What would T.K. think of him? He had always been there, and was always able to help his brother out of a jam. No challenge was too impossible for Yamato Ishida to overcome, as long as he knew T.K. believed in him. But did T.K. have very much faith in him now? His brother, the kid with the gimpy arm, what could he possibly do? Oh sure, Matt felt at this point in time that perhaps he was being too hard on himself. Gimp was such a harsh word and he was only a teenager…only a kid. 

_That's no excuse!_ He told himself. _Are you just going to take the easy way out? Right, just blame it on your arm! Poor Matt, he can't do anything. He's too busy feeling sorry for himself, because he's hiding behind the false pretension that his brother doesn't need him anymore. Hasn't the past taught you anything!?_ Matt shook his head and tried to clear the voice from inside it.

T.K. gave his brother a thoughtful, almost worried look. It was true…he had used that tactic before, but not this time, he promised himself.

With little hesitation, Matt and T.K. allowed themselves to be tied to a pair of chairs. Each facing the opposite direction, back to back. The older blonde bit his lower lip and his shoulders tensed up as Mac violently jerked his broken wrist behind the chair in order to tie it together with his good hand. He had forced himself not to cry out in pain, even though the thought of releasing some pent up emotions had been rather appealing at the moment.

When the larger man was finished, he took a few steps back to admire his handiwork. He hoped the two were as uncomfortable as possible. With a sly smirk, he turned to face the rigid features of the gray haired man whom he called "boss." 

Murphy's facial expression turned from grim to cheerful in a matter of seconds. Matt could feel his brother's body shudder at the evil appearance of the elderly man.

"Well boys, it looks as though our little game has come to an end. Such a pity, and I was having so much fun." He chirped, clapping his hands together in false dismay. His lip curled in a sinister sneer as he glared at the two boys with his steely black eyes.

"Don't look so down boys…I've arranged for one of you to remain in the game." The smile that had been tugging at the corner of Murphy's lips suddenly appeared, revealing the same toothy grin that had sent shivers down the two boys' backs only days earlier. Coming back to haunt them a second time it seemed.

"And look…Vanni has brought you a parting gift." He chuckled, as the greasy haired man emerged from the shadows carrying a strange looking device that oddly enough reminded T.K. of a car battery.

Both boys peered down at it fearfully as Vanni set it beside the legs of the two chairs. Instantaneously they recognized it as being some sort of bomb.

"Now let's see…" Murphy debated, tapping his lower lip with is finger, as if he were in thought. "Who shall get this lovely parting gift, and who will accompany me to the bonus round?" he pondered out loud.

T.K. fidgeted nervously, trying to free himself from the ropes that bound him, but only succeeded in cutting into the tender flesh of his wrists. He flinched in pain and abandoned that idea for the time being.

Murphy reached down to his side and extracted his blade. Matt watched intently as it glinted in the dim light of the warehouse, and was horribly reminded of his previous encounter with the deadly weapon.

"Either way…" he paused, " …you both know the outcome of this."

"This isn't fair!" T.K. screamed, his sudden outburst surprising his older brother. "I thought you were going to let us go after our parents paid whatever ransom you wanted!"

"My dear boy," Murphy explained, casually walking over to T.K. He positioned the knife just above the younger boy's collarbone, at the soft patch of tissue right where his trachea was located. The cold steel made him draw back as far as he could, however, this maneuver proved useless as Murphy pressed the knife closer. T.K. swallowed hard and sat silently, awaiting Murphy's explanation. Matt tried to crane his neck around to see what was going on, but barely caught a glimpse of the older man's side and his view was mostly obscured by the tufts of blonde hair protruding from underneath his brother's hat.

"As I recall, I never mentioned anything about a ransom. You must be mistaken. This isn't a hostage situation…this is an act of vengeance!" T.K.'s eyes went wide with fear as Murphy's eyes narrowed.

"When your parents arrive, I shall kill them. By then you two shall be dead as well."

"You bastard!" T.K. screamed, not caring what would happen to him anymore. For a second time, Matt was stunned by his brother's use of language. T.K. was never one to resort to profanity.

"But little Takeru, this should make you very happy. Now you'll all get to be one big happy family again." Murphy grinned evilly. T.K. clenched his fists in genuine anger and struggled to free himself, despite the restraints tearing into his flesh. __

Matt knew it was no use trying to reason with this guy. But it was in T.K.'s nature to try…he never gave up hope…on anyone. The older blonde rolled this thought around in his head for a moment. It was true…his eyes lit up as though he had had a revelation.

"T.K.!" Matt shouted, "Please T.K.! Stop hurting yourself!"

His brother, who had almost completely forgotten about Matt, ceased his efforts.

"But Matt…" T.K. trailed off as one of Murphy's henchmen burst into the room. All eyes were on him.

"Hey boss! There's a lady out front, it's that Takaishi chick!" the thug hollered.

"By herself?" Murphy questioned, his suspicions arose.

"Mom?" T.K. whimpered.

"T.K.! Listen to me! I have to tell you something!" Matt cried until he was finally able to gain his brother's attention.

"Matt, this is it. We're not getting out of here." He said coldly. Matt's eyes began to water and his mouth gaped open. An expression materialized on his face, one that held the qualities of child like fear and innocence. It was rarely seen on the older boy's face because he hadn't permitted it to surface since that day T.K. had told Matt he didn't need him anymore. 

"No T.K.! No, don't say that!" Matt pleaded. Everyone had been oblivious to the conversation that the two boys were holding, as their attention was on the young woman slowly approaching the warehouse.

"You _are_ Hope! That's what your crest stands for. All this time, I thought you had lost hope in me, that maybe…you didn't need me anymore. But T.K…." Matt paused, his chest heaving as he tried to hold back his tears. His voice caught in his throat, as the emotions that were so strong nearly prevented him from speaking. "…you never lose hope in anyone. I've realized that."

T.K. interrupted his brother, shocked at what he had just confessed to him. "How could you ever think such a thing." He sniffled. "You're my brother Matt…you're my brother." He said, putting heavy emphasis on the last statement. "I've always had faith in you."

Murphy shoved past the group of men huddled around him. "Time to go!" he yelled, as he signaled for the rest of his men to round up the cars.

"You sure you don't need any back up boss?" Mac asked.

"I can handle this, just make sure our get-away is fool proof." Murphy sneered, as he pulled his coat off, revealing a shoulder holster. The older man ripped the gun from its pouch and grabbed a clip from his pocket. In one swift motion, he jammed the cartridge into the gun and released the safety.

"Locked and loaded." He grinned as his men exited the building through the rear entrance.

"Well now!" he said, confronting the two brothers. "I bet you two have been just anxious to find out who the lucky one is."

The two brothers tensed with apprehension as Murphy poised his knife in the air. He swiftly brought it down, cutting throw Matt's restraints. The older blonde squeezed his eyes shut as the blade descended towards them. They shot back open as Murphy jerked him from his seat.

"No!" Matt screamed, trying everything he could to resist, but was eventually stopped when he felt a cold, sharp object connecting with his throat.

"MATT!!" T.K. cried, as Murphy twisted the older boy's good arm around his back.

"I tire of your games boy!" Murphy hissed, applying more pressure to the deadly blade. Matt froze in place, a slight gurgle escaped his throat as he tried not to move, lest the blade slip and pierce his skin. T.K. writhed in his seat, desperately attempting to free himself of his confines.

"Oh, hurry Takeru…not much time." Murphy cackled. "It's a shame you won't live to see your brother die!" he spat as he held the knife firmly at Matt's throat and quickly reached into his trouser pocket, producing a small remote control with a single red button.

The old man rubbed the button maliciously with his thumb before pressing it, causing a small time clock mounted on the explosive device to activate.

"Ta ta." He casually mocked as he led Matt out of the warehouse.

As the older man stumbled along with the teenager in his grasp, he relaxed his grip on the knife, allowing Matt to whirl his head around to face his brother, for what he very well thought to be the last time.

"T.K.! Don't give up hope!!" he cried.

T.K. watched helplessly as his brother was led away. Still struggling to get loose, he let the last words Matt spoke to him echo in his head, as the intermittent beeping of the timer slowly reminded him of his impending doom.  

End Note: ACK!! Don't hurt me! *ducks behind monitor* I'm the author and even I think this is a cruel place to stop. But what would a fanfic by Kodachrome be if it didn't have a nasty cliffhanger? -_-  Hey I heard that!! Okay, sorry zara…I'm talking to myself again. That must mean my muse is back! Hehe! Don't get your hopes up or nothing, but I think the next chapter should be the last….maybe….R+R pleeeeeaaassse. *big smile* 


	10. Chapter 9

A/N: FINALLY!! I bet you've been waiting for this forever! The final chapter to Vengeance! Hehe. Well, it was some two months in the making…and I could have split this up into more chapters, but I promised everyone that this would be the last. So here it is, in all its glory! 

****Special Thanks To****

**Sailormoonshadow** and **raine**

Without whom this fic may have not been completed for another couple of months. Thanks for all the encouragement, reviews, IM's, proof reading, ideas, etc. etc.. You guys rock!

And to all of the readers, thanx for your time and input. Enjoy! ^_^ 

With each determined step Nancy took, an equal amount of foreboding coursed through her veins. What if he had already killed them? What if he refused to let them go? She drew up an unsteady hand and placed it over her wary eyes. She wished Malcolm were here beside her; she couldn't handle this by herself. It had been true, she always was a strong, outgoing woman, with a seemingly fearless exterior, but that was only a ploy to mask the fragility she bore in her heart.  Since their divorce, she felt she had to work even harder, not only to maintain her single-parent household, but also to ensure that T.K. would have a balanced upbringing, despite the constant lack of a father figure.

As she neared the abandoned warehouse, more remorseful thoughts raced through her troubled mind. It was the first time, in quite a while that she had considered her eldest son's feelings. He had appeared to distance himself from her ever since the breakup, and as the years rolled on, it felt as though the gap between them was growing in proportion. Of course this had to be true of T.K. and his father. Seldom was the opportunity they had any time to bond. Why of all times would she be thinking of this now?

Guilt. That was the primary reason. The saying was so cliché, yet it held much truth. You don't realize the value of what you have, until it is gone. To Nancy, her sons were a part of her, well of course they were, after all she was their mother. Without them, she felt lost, alone, and above all incomplete. Perhaps the basis for all this regretful reflecting was her self-conscious urging her to make a positive change. Yes, she thought, maybe…when this whole terrible ordeal is finished, she could make it up to T.K…. and Matt. Less time working, she contrived, and more time spent with the family. At least her intentions were good, but some of the best-laid plans, which had begun with good intentions, turned out to be disastrous.

Nancy shook her head, clearing it of her present thoughts. Now was not the time to lament. She had to stick to the plan or all would be lost. Standing not but twenty feet from the complex, she allowed her eyes to close as she took in a deep breath and released it. Biting her lower lip, she began to tread forward. Then something she hadn't mentally prepared for entered her field of vision. From a set of double doors burst two figures. Her heart immediately leapt up into her throat, as she recognized one to be a knife wielding Murphy. He held the blade at a lethal angle to her eldest son's neck.

"Mom!" Matt cried out, she could hear the waver of fear in his voice and her heart ached to help him.

"Yamato!" she responded, with an equally quavering voice. She clenched a fist to her chest, as if to keep her pounding heart contained therein. Tears pricked the outer rims of her eyelids and she defiantly blinked them back.

"Ah, Nancy…how long has it been?" Murphy smiled maliciously, pressing the deadly blade even closer to the soft flesh of Matt's neck. He let out a small whimper of discomfort, which brought a sadistic look of pleasure to the old man's face.

"Let him go Murphy!" Nancy pleaded, "He's not the one you want!" The young woman hoped that plea would be honored. Her eyes scanned the cold black orbs that were Murphy's. He looked as though he were contemplating the request. As Nancy awaited his answer, her eyes caught her son's figure. Needless to say his facial expression matched the haggard appearance of his body. A tremor of anger sustained itself in the pit of her stomach as she discovered the small bandage over his eye, as well as a few bruises that managed to manifest themselves. Had she a keener eye, she would have observed the injured limb, which slightly protruded from behind Matt's back, where Murphy held it tightly.

His hair, which was usually a beautiful blonde hue, showed scant traces of dried up blood. Nancy averted her eyes back to Murphy's. She had seen enough. A feeling of dread emanated in the nether reaches of her mind, as she could only imagine what they had done to T.K.

"Now, now Nancy. You know I'm not about to just hand over your son." The gangster grinned slyly. "By the way, just out of sheer curiosity, where is your delightful husband…oh, pardon me…EX-husband." He hissed.

Nancy's eyes scanned the ground for a suitable explanation. "Y-You said no cops!" she called out to him, "They were following us, so Malcolm decided to lead them on a wild goose chase!"

"Smart man." Murphy replied, "but unfortunate for him I'm afraid." The smile that played across the scar-faced man's lips grew wider.

"What do you mean?!" she cried, mechanically taking a few steps forward without realizing it.

"If he doesn't get here soon, he'll miss the death of his sons!" Murphy shot back with an amused tone.

"NO!" Nancy screamed. "Please!"

The young woman felt helpless as a small cackle erupted from the older man. Slowly rising in pitch until it was one long maniacal laugh.

Malcolm shifted into Neutral and slowly let the car coast to a stop in behind the line of big rigs just outside the warehouse. He hoped that the plan he and Nancy had formulated mere minutes ago would work. All she had to do was distract Murphy until he could find the boys. However, he hadn't considered the idea that Murphy may have been holding one of them hostage.

The wily reporter sprang from the vehicle and ducked behind one of the rigs. He quickly stole from one semi to the next, keeping a sharp eye out for any of Murphy's accomplices. If the situation required it, Malcolm could be quite stealth. Years of being a reporter had attributed to those skills. A brief scuffling noise caught his attention as he pressed his back up against one of the trailers. He cautiously peered around the side of the diesel-chugging monstrosity to see a line of black cars. He watched as a few tough looking gangsters piled into the vehicles. Arguing and prodding at eachother like school children trying to attain the best seat on the bus. After all the cars had dispersed, Malcolm took this opportunity to make a mad dash for the warehouse. Throwing one last glance around him, he sprinted over to one of the windows that decorated the first floor of the building.

Using the sleeve of his shirt, Malcolm wiped some of the soot from the filthy glass and cupped his hands around his face in order to peer in. As his gaze shifted around the dark environment he spotted a still figure seated in a chair.

"T.K.!" he whispered excitedly, as the white hat and yellow and turquoise shirt immediately gave his youngest son away. Not wanting to walk straight into a trap, Malcolm crept along the side of the building until he reached its corner. He could hear Nancy trying to bargain with the old gangster. Curious to see what was going on, and if his ex-wife was all right, he poked his head around the corner.

His brown eyes widened at the sight before him, as a small gasp escaped his lungs. Malcolm cupped his hand over his mouth to prevent himself from being spotted. Matt's father whirled around, his back against the wall, as his face twisted in concern. Things didn't look good, but he wasn't out of ideas yet. First things first, he thought, and that was to rescue T.K. Malcolm jogged back towards the window he had been looking in, and seeing no door around, he quickly began to loosen his neck tie. Licking his lips in anticipation, he wrapped the garment around his fist. He pulled the covered hand up to his mouth and gave it a brief kiss for good luck before driving it through the glass. Shards of the clear matter scattered everywhere, like so many raindrops cascading down onto the cold cement of the warehouse floor.

T.K.'s head whipped around and a relieved smile spread across his face as he watched his father clear the sharp pieces of glass from the windowsill and crawl through it. Malcolm looked down at his blood-covered hand, inspecting it for any splinters of glass that may have gotten wedged underneath his skin. When none could be found, he ran over to his youngest son's side.

"Dad! You came!" T.K. grinned, and in that moment had forgotten all his worries, including Matt and the bomb.

"T.K., are you alright? Did that bastard hurt you?" Malcolm asked, clutching his son to his chest.

"No worries dad, I'll be okay." He said in a muffled voice, trying to get his father's attention, who seemed to be wrapped up in an emotional moment.

"God it's good to see you!" he exclaimed finally pulling away from T.K. "Let's get you out of here and go save your brother."

"Hurry dad!" the younger boy replied anxiously, remembering the timer on the explosive.

"Take it easy, you'll be…" he was cut off by his son's fearful expression.

"Dad there's a bomb!" he finally cried, motioning down towards the floor with his face.

Malcolm averted his gaze over to where T.K. was signaling. His mouth gaped open as his hands worked faster to free his youngest boy. As the last of his restraints were tore free, T.K. jumped up from the chair, but was intercepted by his father, who grabbed his arm and began to drag him furiously towards the broken window.

"Come on! There's not much time! We have less than 20 seconds!" his father screamed, as the two raced towards the opening. Hastily, Malcolm hoisted up his son and shoved him through the window, as he pulled himself through mere seconds before a ball of fire tore through the warehouse, destroying everything in its path.

T.K. felt a blast of heat sear down his back as he and his father were thrown several feet from the explosion. Time appeared to move in slow motion, as the blonde boy felt himself lift off the ground, his body being hurdled through the air. As he and his father made impact with the hard earth, a swirl of dust engulfed them, and T.K. brought his hands up to cover his head from any falling debris. He could feel his father's arm laying over him protectively, as the crackle of flames and stinging odor of smoke invaded his senses.

Malcolm slowly lifted his head and shook the dust out of his hair. He glanced down at T.K., whose azure blue eyes peeked out at him innocently from behind the boy's arms, which he was currently using to encase his head.

"You okay?" he asked, inspecting his son further for any wounds or injuries.

T.K. only nodded, and allowed his father to help him to his feet. Without notice, the young boy's lower lip began to quiver, and his eyes welled up with tears as he latched onto his father.

"I'm so glad you made it in time dad, I started to lose hope, but Matt told me to never lose hope, he said it was my strongest feature and that's why I have my crest, and…and dad…" T.K. blurted out hysterically. His father could not comprehend his babbling fast enough.

"Y-Yes son?" he said, as it all began to sink in. 

"I love you dad!" T.K. sobbed. Malcolm pulled his youngest son closer and held him tightly.

"I love you too Takeru." He sniffled, refusing to let his tears fall, as he rubbed T.K.'s back soothingly.

"I never thought I'd see you or mom again…" T.K. whimpered. He drew back from his father and used his sleeve to wipe the tears from his eyes.

"It's gonna be okay son." Malcolm tried to assure him, though he knew that nothing he could say would ever erase the traumatic experience from the teenager's memory.

Father and son turned to face the demolished warehouse; a shell of its former self. The windows had been blown out and the building teetered on its foundation. Smoke and flames billowed from every orifice of the rubble.

T.K. clutched his father's shirtsleeve and blinked in astonishment. The building he was now looking at, just moments ago…that could have been him…he thought. T.K. stumbled backwards as he lost his footing. Malcolm steadied the young boy.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked with concern.

T.K. nodded, "I'll be fine. I…I was just thinking, that…" Malcolm felt a small shudder course down the boy's back, as his muscles spasmed involuntarily.

"Come on son, let's go rescue your brother." He suggested, trying to take T.K.'s mind off his near-death experience…and onto…worse things, he thought, and mentally slapped himself as he led the boy back towards the car.

The earth rocked beneath him, as a wave of heat washed over the blonde teenager and his captor. The explosion both surprised and sent Matt stumbling forward and out of Murphy's grasp. The bewildered gangster fell to the ground from the force of the blast, the threatening knife flying free of his hand and landing mere inches away. Nancy covered her ears, as the sound of the blast ripped through her eardrums. She began to run forward a little, half expecting Matt to run to her, now that Murphy was incapacitated, but he didn't, and the sudden realization of why made her stomach lurch.

After regaining his balance, Matt whirled around to see the demolished building, billows of smoke and ash rising up into the almost crimson late afternoon sky, as the sun began to set over the ruins. Crimson, it reminded him of blood. He glanced down at his wrist, still encased in the splint, but with the bandages wearing thin around the broken pieces of wood. Not his blood, he thought, as his eyes glazed over with unshed tears. Matt suddenly felt weak in his knees, and even though he was relying on all his remaining strength to hold him up, he couldn't help but feel compelled to crumple to the ground. The world began to spin before his eyes, as he felt himself lose his grip on reality.

"No! No! Nooooo!!!" he screamed unto the heavens, as streams of tears flowed freely down his cheeks. "T.K.!" he cried, as he willed his legs to move him forward, closer to the rubble that once was the warehouse.

Nancy stopped dead in her tracks, unsure of what to do. She definitely had not been prepared for this. An agonizing wail originating in the depths of her heart, stomach, and lungs, pushed itself forth, until it breeched her vocal chords and escaped her lips, flooding the warm air with a mournful cry, as she buried her face in her hands.

Matt ran until he reached what used to be the entrance of the building. He sifted through the wreckage blocking the doorway until he could see into the complex. The doors had been blown out, and lay scattered among the debris. The determined teenager started to take a step forward, but a crackling noise and some dust alerted him to the doorway that was about to collapse. He took one last look inside to see everything engulfed in flames. Nothing could have survived that. And suddenly it all caved in, sending a cloud of smoke, dust, and debris over him. Matt shielded his eyes, as a coughing fit erupted from his lungs.

His brother was gone…being rushed further and further away from him, as the smoke carried the ashes skyward and with it a part of himself. He couldn't believe it. Worst of all was how he had lied to T.K. He had told to him to have hope, that help would arrive, but did it? His brother didn't deserve this; the traumatized youth clenched his fists, as more tears came. He stumbled away from the warehouse, away from the fallen debris and charred remains, away from his brother. All this time he had been so selfish, wondering whether T.K. still needed him, when in truth he should have been more concerned over whether he needed T.K…. he did. That was the answer plain and simple.

"Matt!" he could faintly hear his mother call out to him, but it didn't matter anymore. He wondered if anything would ever matter to him again. Slowly he turned around to see his mother, she that had abandoned him and left his father, took T.K. away…separated them…there she stood, arms outstretched, welcoming an embrace, but Matt was in no mood for comfort. He did not want comfort he wanted…vengeance. The blonde boy stared at his mother as she shuffled forward. A flash of light caught his eye and he dashed towards Nancy.

"Mom!" he yelled in warning. Nancy only looked at him somewhat puzzled. It didn't fully dawn on her what was going on until she caught a fleeting image of Murphy out of the corner of her eye.

"I will have my revenge!" he hollered insanely, as he dove toward her, knife in hand. The entire time she stood there, she had not noticed the older man crawl to his knees, as he violently grasped the knife, reclaiming the threatening weapon. Fortunately for her, Matt had witnessed this and was now racing towards his mother's would-be attacker. The blonde slammed into him full throttle, sending him back to the ground, as the two tumbled in the dust. Matt shakily propped himself up on his elbows and knees and warily glanced over to see if he was successful in knocking the blade from Murphy's hand, or at least sending the man sprawling. To his surprise, Murphy was scrambling up, recovering sooner than Matt had anticipated. Luckily he had succeeded in liberating the deadly blade from Murphy's hands. The scar-faced man was now searching the ground frantically for it.

Nancy, a new surge of adrenaline pumping through her, rushed over to Matt's side in order to help the injured boy up.

"Come on!" she cried, as she hoisted her son to his feet. Matt reached out for her hand and within seconds was standing upright again. The two started to take off in sprint when the angry ex-con's fist connected with the back of Nancy's head. Matt watched in horror as his mother fell to the ground.

"Leave her alone!" Matt cried, staring down the older man, a glimmer of defiance in his eyes, as he knelt next to his mother to inspect her injuries.

"I'm sick and tired of you and your interfering!" the disfigured man seethed, pointing an accusing finger at the blonde. Before Matt had a chance to react Murphy had delivered a well-executed kick to his rib cage. The teenager rolled onto his stomach, gasping for breath.

"You wanna mess with me boy!" Murphy cried as he continued to pummel the youth with blows to his midsection. The old gangster then noticed his trusty blade lying a short distance away. As Matt clutched his ribs and tried to recover from the previous attack, Murphy stumbled towards his knife.

The blow to the head did not leave Nancy on the sidelines for long. Groggily she brought herself to a standing position. She squeezed her eyes shut for a brief second, as the back of her head throbbed lightly. It only took her a moment to assess the situation. Her son lay on the ground in a fetal position, gasping for breath, while his attacker was staggering in the direction where his knife lay. Nancy shook her head, clearing it of any inhibitions. With that done, she took off in a wild run towards Murphy. Her foot swiftly connected with the elder man's ragged looking hand as he advanced upon the knife. A snarl of pain escaped the back of his throat as he whirled around angrily to see a defiant looking Nancy Takaishi, fists clenched and ready for action.

"I see where your son gets his arrogance!" he shouted, as his left fist flew out at her. Nancy quickly dodged this maneuver and proceeded with a counter attack, but being a novice when it came to fighting, she was unprepared for the right hook Murphy delivered with lightning quick speed. Mildly stunned, Nancy wobbled to and fro a bit before regaining her bearings. She knew that she would never win a fistfight against this opponent, but she was bound and determined to keep him from further injuring her son.

"Come now Nancy," Murphy mocked, "You're only delaying the inevitable. Why don't I just kill you now and you can be with your precious Takeru." He grinned.

Tears began to well up in her eyes, but Nancy blinked them back. Murphy began to move in closer and Nancy locked eyes with him.

"You killed my son." She said. "He had nothing to do with this. You took an innocent life."

"Aww…" Murphy teased, "You're little guilt trip isn't going to work on me, I've been waiting years for this. YEARS!" he screamed, back handing her across the face. Nancy reeled sideways, nearly falling, but catching herself as she drew her hands up to her nose. Warm blood flowed freely through her fingers as she held them to her face.

"And now…" Murphy announced, reaching into his holster to retrieve his gun, "…you die." 

Nancy's eyes grew wide at the sight of the deadly weapon. Her muscles froze in fear as Murphy began to take aim from a point blank range.

With every ounce of strength left in him, Matt scrambled to his feet. He tried to stand erect, but only managed to teeter back and forth, which was fine with him, so long as he was able to stand at all.

Out of the corner of his eye, the old gangster spotted Matt's movement and hesitated, his finger gently squeezing the trigger but not so much as to fire the weapon.

"Didn't know you were so anxious to be with your brother!" he hissed, causing a spark of anger in Matt's normally docile blue eyes.

Nancy stared on in horror as Murphy pointed the gun towards Matt. The teenager slouched to one side, firmly holding his injured arm, his eyes looked tired and it appeared as though he hadn't a single iota of energy left in him.

The sound of a car engine revving up caught both of the opponent's attention. Matt curiously glanced over his shoulder to see what looked like his father's vehicle rounding the side of the demolished building.

Using this distraction to her advantage, Nancy lunged at Murphy, wrapping her arms around his neck. Using all her weight she managed to pull him backwards. This move both startled and enraged the scar-faced man and he began to fire the gun as he flailed his arms about. Bullets flew in all directions as the two struggled for control. Matt quickly ran a zigzag pattern towards Murphy, trying to the best of his ability not to get shot as bullets whizzed through the air right near him. When he was close enough, Matt grabbed for the hand containing the gun and ripped it free of Murphy's grasp, as the older man was preoccupied with attempting to free himself from Nancy. Ironically, this move worked to their disadvantage. With both hands free, Murphy reached around and latched onto Nancy's wrists and with a mighty heave, threw her into Matt. The blonde teenager and his mother landed in a heap a little distance away from him.

All the while, Malcolm and T.K. watched the scene unfold with great concern. T.K. looked over at his dad fearfully, knowing and dreading what he was about to do next.  Mr. Ishida slammed his foot down on the accelerator and sped towards the three. The instantaneous forward motion sent Takeru back into his seat. He clutched the sides of the seat cushion, his fingernails digging into the upholstery, as Malcolm's facial expression became more determined. 

Murphy's steely black eyes caught sight of the car for a second time, and barely had time to move before it plowed right into him. The tires squalled as Malcolm hit the brakes and a loud thud was heard when the left side of the car made contact with Murphy's leg as he desperately tried to dive out of the path of danger. T.K.'s hands flew up, shielding his eyes from the horrible scene. From the agonizing sound of Murphy's moans, T.K. could tell the man had been incapacitated. As soon as the car stopped, he bolted from the passenger side, completely ignoring his father's request for him to stay in the vehicle.

"Takeru! T.K.!!" Malcolm screamed to no avail. He finally sighed and gave up, unbuckling his safety belt, and exiting the car. Without delay he followed suit of his youngest son, making his way to where Nancy and Matt were, glancing at Murphy from the corner of his eye to ensure his family's safety.

Murphy lay some distance away; a small moan came from the crippled gangster as he rolled over onto his side, all the while clutching at his broken leg.

"Mom! Matt!" T.K. cried joyfully, as he and his father came nearer.

"T.K.?" Matt questioned, giving the younger boy a thoughtful look as he sat up. "You're alive?"

No sooner were these words spoken when T.K. came barreling into his brother, nearly knocking him back to the ground.

"Whoa, take it easy squirt!" Matt slightly chuckled as the two embraced. The older boy was still in somewhat of a shock, seeing his brother alive again was almost too good to be true.

T.K. gave his older brother a lop-sided grin, giving Matt all the reassurance he needed.

"Course I am." He replied to the question, as he helped Matt up. The older boy let out a contented sigh as he allowed his brother to help him back towards the car. T.K. slung Matt's good arm over his shoulder and proceeded to lead him to the backseat. Gently and with great caution to avoid aggravating any of Matt's recent injuries, T.K. sat his brother down. The older boy waved off any further assistance, as he insisted T.K. go help their mother. Complying with Matt's wishes the younger boy jogged over to where Malcolm held Nancy in his arms.

"You're sure you're okay?" Malcolm asked sincerely, inspecting the bump that had manifested itself on the back of her head. Nancy only nodded, as Malcolm reached into his pocket and handed her a handkerchief, which she used to dab at the excess blood that slowly trickled from where Murphy had struck her.

"I'm fine Malcolm…really." She replied, slightly blushing from the amount of concern he displayed for her. Her gaze shifted from that of Malcolm's to T.K.'s, as she gently pushed him aside.

"Takeru? My son?" she squeaked, extending her hand out to him hoping it wasn't her imagination playing cruel tricks on her.

T.K. embraced his mother warmly, as Malcolm stood back admiring the mother/son moment. Slowly he began to step back, giving Nancy a chance to reunite with her youngest son after so many hours of worry and despair.

Matt leaned against the side of the car door frame. Now that his body was at rest he could feel the soreness in his tired muscles, the throbbing pain in his arm had returned, and he clutched the injured arm to his midsection, trying to sooth the pain that not only afflicted that area, but also where Murphy had recently beat him. 

Malcolm finally made his way to Matt, who was now slumped over in the back seat, his legs dangling outside the car door.

"Yamato?" his father asked, as he knelt down in front of his son. Matt's eyes were cast downward as he concentrated on ignoring the ever growing pain in his side.

His blue eyes met those of his father's and he paused, his mouth slowly began to open as if he were about to say something as Malcolm brought his hand up to Matt's face. His father just stared at him, his eyes darting back and forth over Matt's features as if he were searching for something, or perhaps trying to memorize every detail of his son's face. Malcolm's hand gently snaked around the back of Matt's head as he pulled him forward into an embrace.

If Matt had anything to say earlier he was at a loss for words now. This act of affection, this feeling of love was almost new to him. He managed to drape his good arm over his dad's shoulder and pulled him in closer.

T.K. watched the scene fondly as his mother continued to hug him, sobbing into his shoulder. He rubbed her back soothingly, and whispered into her ear, assuring her everything was all right. The corners of his mouth began to twitch, as if he were about to smile, but held it back. When he was finally able to calm her down, he and his mother started towards the car, the sound of their shoes scraping over the loose dirt alerted Malcolm, who pulled back from the hug, and nonchalantly swiped at his eyes and cleared his throat.

"We better notify the police." He mumbled as he walked past T.K. firmly gripping his shoulder for a second before making his way to the driver's side where he had left his phone, in fear it would have rang while he was attempting to rescue his sons. The younger boy only nodded and began to walk his mother to the passenger side of the vehicle.

He had seen the tears in his father's eyes, no matter how he tried to hide it. T.K. felt that was a side of his dad that shouldn't be hidden. However, from years of experience with Matt he knew that was a subject best left untouched. 

Malcolm pulled his car door open and reached over to the center console where his phone lay. Matt watched him idly, as he began to dial some numbers. Just as he was about to hit the send button something on the horizon averted his attention. In the distance, a cloud of dust led by a pack of black cars came looming into perspective.

"DAD!!" T.K. screamed, his mother whirling around to see the menacing looking vehicles closing in.

"Get in!!" Malcolm ordered, hailing his youngest son to the driver's side of the vehicle as Nancy all but threw herself into the seat and slammed the door shut.

She turned to face her eldest son whom she noticed was having some difficulty fastening his safety belt. With great care and swiftness she managed to buckle him in, completely avoiding the arm he cradled protectively at his side.

By this time, unbeknownst to T.K., Murphy had managed to crawl around to the passenger side of Malcolm's car. As the younger blonde began to sprint over to where his father was motioning to him, Murphy dragged himself in closer. Reaching out, he latched onto the younger boy's ankle, causing him to take an unexpected dive to the ground.

"T.K.!!!" Matt screamed, as he realized what had happened. In the same amount of time it had taken Nancy to buckle his seat belt, Matt had it off and frantically threw the back door open. The older boy started to lunge forward in an effort to help his brother, when a strong hand wrenched him backwards. Matt fell back onto the soft leather of the car's interior, jerking his head around to find his dad leaning over the back of his seat, firmly holding him in place.

"Dad?! What are you…" he started to yell, when a black blur screeched to a halt mere inches in front of his eyes. Matt watched with a horrified gasp as the car door was knocked off its hinges and carried along by the front bumper of the black car until it stopped. The older blonde's mouth gaped open as he realized what could have happened had he been hanging out of the vehicle just then.

Mac beamed with pride as he had positioned the car perfectly; right alongside Malcolm's. The front end obstructed Nancy's exit, and at the same time trapped Matt on his side. He chuckled sadistically as he watched Nancy struggle to open the car door. Seconds later, the rest of the pack joined him, creating a barrier on either side of Malcolm's vehicle.

T.K. lay on his stomach, shaking his head wearily, as he tried to piece together what had just happened. A few small coughs escaped him, as he had fallen face first into the dust. Slowly he brought his head up and his eyes widened at the sight of the front end of Murphy's familiar black car staring at him about a foot and a half away. The younger boy winced as the back door from his dad's car fell to the ground with a loud thud. 

Vanni and a few of the other thugs wasted no time in retrieving their injured boss. Within seconds they had loaded him up into the car that Mac was currently driving.

"Get the boy!!" Murphy hissed angrily, as he signaled to his men to run along to the other side of the car where T.K. was located.

"NO!" Matt interjected, writhing free of his father's grasp. He bolted forward, only to be met by the sinister grin of Mac. Matt noticed a small pocket of a space he could probably fit through amid the cars. Ignoring the larger man leering at him, Matt made an effort to squeeze in between the two cars to reach T.K.

"T.K.!!" he screamed again, as he desperately tried to lean out to reach his brother.

Nancy twisted around in her seat, trying to get a better view of what was happening.

"Malcolm!!" she hollered, as a flash of metallic light caught her eye.

Her ex-husband craned his head to see what had caused her sudden outburst and was presently alarmed as he made another wild grab for Matt.

"Kill him." Murphy instructed, as Mac pulled out his revolver. Matt, however, was too busy trying to help T.K. to notice the deadly situation he was in. As the large man prepared to squeeze the trigger Malcolm's instincts went into overdrive as he jammed the key into the ignition and cranked it over.  Wasting no time, he pressed his foot to the floor sending the car forward.

The sudden movement startled the older teenager, as he lurched sideways, hitting the back of his mother's seat and landing on the floor of the vehicle. The sound of Mac's gun immediately brought him to his senses. Instead of hitting Matt, the bullet ricocheted off the backend of Malcolm's car, shattering the rear window in the process. Flinching, Matt covered his head with his good arm, as tiny shards of glass rained down upon him. At the sound of the gunshots, the other men fell back into their respective vehicles, awaiting Murphy's next command.

"Matt? Are you okay?" T.K. asked apprehensively, slowly edging towards his brother.

Upon opening his eyes, Matt was relieved to be greeted by T.K. The younger boy was still lying on his stomach, but since Matt had taken his spill onto the floor of the car, he was now eye level with T.K. 

"Come on!" Matt said in reply, motioning with his uninjured arm. By moving the car forward, their dad had given T.K. plenty of room to enter the vehicle. He quickly scrambled up and dove into the backseat, practically landing on top of Matt.

"Go Malcolm!!" Nancy screamed, as she watched her youngest make it into the safety of the four-door.

Malcolm didn't even hesitate, as he put his foot to the floor. The back wheels spun for a brief second in the loose gravel, before ejecting the car forward.

In the meantime, Mac continued to fire at the vehicle, managing to hit the taillights and Nancy's side view mirror. He angrily gunned the engine and tossed his revolver into the backseat, narrowly missing Vanni, when his attempts proved futile.

"You always were a poor shot." Murphy criticized, glaring at the larger man. "Let's just hope your driving skills make up for your lack of marksmanship." He further mocked.

As Mac peeled out in pursuit of the Ishida/Takaishi clan, three other cars followed him.

"Don't worry boss, they won't get away." He growled maliciously, fully intent on catching the smaller tan colored car.

"Sorry Matt!" T.K. chimed, as he gently removed himself from his brother and dusted off the tiny pieces of glass that had littered the backseat.

Just the feeling of having T.K. back was well worth the minor discomfort he had just caused the older boy. T.K. offered his hand as he helped Matt back up into a sitting position.

"No prob…just glad to have you back." Matt grinned, although the pain shooting up his arm and side would have said otherwise.

"Now you two have your seatbelts on right!?" Nancy snapped; it was all she could do to suppress her motherly urge to jump in the backseat and smother the two.

"Uh huh." T.K. nodded, but Nancy was not satisfied until she heard a click on either side of her, indicating that they had indeed fastened their safety belts.

"Here." Malcolm said, tossing the cell phone to Nancy. "Call the police." He instructed as he clutched the wheel furiously. Keeping both eyes trained on the road, as well as the rear view mirror.

As much as T.K. enjoyed the fact that his family was doing something together after so many years of distance, he had to admit he wished it were under better circumstances. Lackadaisically his view went from his mother, whom he could partially see clutching her seat and glancing at his father anxiously every few seconds, to his father, muscles tensed, a pool of sweat soaking through the back of his shirt, and finally his eyes rested on his brother, whose mind and sight were on the cars trailing closely behind them.

Matt had been through so much the past few days, he thought…he wondered how his older brother was holding up. T.K.'s eyes fell to his brother's injured arm. The bandages he had used to splint the injury were scarcely visible under the caked on dirt and dust from his entire ordeal. T.K. watched his brother twist himself around so that he was able to get a better view from the back of the vehicle. His blonde hair, which had been stained with blood and dirt, was now blowing freely in the wind due to the lack of a rear window, as well as the missing door on T.K.'s side. The younger boy noted when Matt winced briefly and grabbed his arm, squeezing it tightly as if that would soothe the burning pain.

After a few moments Matt turned his head from the scene behind them. His gaze caught that of T.K.'s and he stared at the younger boy thoughtfully.

"What's up squirt?" he asked. T.K. only turned his head downwards, staring directly at the floorboard.

"T.K.?" Matt asked, he couldn't understand what was afflicting the boy now. Sure, they were being pursued by a band of angry gangsters, but at least they were all together again. At least they were safe for the time being. It was no reason to cast all their worries aside, but still, after all that had happened why was his brother acting this way towards him.

"You alright?" Matt queried again, lowering his voice to a whisper. If T.K. didn't even want to speak to him, he was sure he didn't want their parents involved either. Besides, their mom and dad had enough to keep their minds busy without adding to it. Matt leaned in closer to his brother, squinting slightly, as the air coming in from T.K.'s side of the car stung his eyes.

"Come on, I know something's bothering you." Matt stated forcefully. There was something inherent in the Ishida gene pool that made a person want to digress from their true feelings, and T.K. was no exception to this trait that was a little more prominent in his older sibling.

"I'm fine. Really." T.K. sighed, wishing his brother wouldn't prod so much. He wasn't in the mood to lament on all the guilt he had been feeling. Moreover, he really didn't want anyone to know about it.

Another characteristic from their father's side of the family was the unwillingness to give up, whether this greatly benefited or hindered them. Thus explaining how Nancy and Malcolm met, and eventually why they divorced. Not to mention the time when Matt and T.K. were in the Digital World and were separated. Matt nearly died of exposure searching for his brother. But it also proved useful in their battles with evil, as the will to push on gave them strength. At the moment one would classify this as being stubborn on both Matt and T.K.'s part.

"I'm not taking that as an answer. T.K…please tell me what's wrong." Matt was almost about to give up, but not quite. He was hoping if he held out just a bit longer, his brother would disclose the underlying reason for his current state.

A heated fury ran through the younger blonde's veins at that moment. He could not explain where this animosity had come from, but he knew he had to release it or else he'd explode.

"Look just lay off!" T.K. snapped, just above a whisper.

Matt was taken aback by his brother's sudden display of anger. He hadn't meant to rile him up; he was just concerned for his well-being. Wasn't that what an older brother was supposed to do?

Matt opened his mouth to retaliate, good intentions or not, he was not about to let T.K. off the hook that easily. However, he didn't even get a chance, when another onslaught came from the younger boy.

"I don't need you prying into my feelings all the time alright. Just leave me alone for a little bit." T.K. huffed, and folded his arms, turning away from Matt's hurt expression.

That had been the ultimate blow, hurting more than when he broke his wrist, more so than when Murphy had kicked him in the ribcage. The second time in Matt's life that his little brother had completely rejected him. There was more to Matt than met the eye, as is true with all people. When T.K. pushed him away, he felt as though he were the one being selfish, like he was interfering with his brother's life. In fact, it was the exact opposite, but he was blind to that. Being the bearer of the crest of friendship, he was in the habit of looking out for others. He knew he would overdo it every now and then, especially when T.K. was younger, but this time it was different. It wasn't as though he questioned T.K.'s ability to take care of himself…this time he just wanted to know what was troubling his sibling.

Matt began to question himself again, as he had done before when they were trapped inside the warehouse. Were his motives unnecessary? A long, heavy sigh escaped his lips as he brought his gaze down to the floorboards that had so interested T.K. a little while before.

_Now you've done it Takeru._ T.K.'s inner voice chided him. _He was only trying to help._

How could you be such a jerk? That's really not like you. The guilt is becoming a little unnerving. These guys keep chasing us. I just want them to leave my family and I alone. I'm sorry Matt. I'm sorry I can't be as strong as you in these situations.

Memories immediately began to flood the younger boy's head. 

He could remember a time in the Digital World, a time he had been so frightened. They had only been in their strange new surroundings for only a day or two. Being unfamiliar with the terrain and the territory, they had inadvertently roused the likes of an angry Seadramon.

And then T.K. was in the water. He barely knew how to swim at the time, but luckily Gomamon was there to help…as well as their other friends. But something still stuck out in the young boy's mind. The one thing he would never forget about that day. 

Matt, with no regard for himself, had risked his life to save T.K. It didn't matter that their enemy was fifteen times the size of him; if T.K. were in danger, there was no stopping Matt's love and determination for his brother.

This time, it was T.K.'s turn to sigh as his eyes fell upon his older brother, who was also dealing with past occurrences of his own.

 T.K. had made it quite obvious that Matt was no longer of any use to him. He had imagined that once they were back in the custody of their parents, that T.K. would be happy once again, but it must have been Matt's constant pestering that turned his mood sour.

He knew that T.K. had proven to be more than capable of taking care of himself. Still the fact lingered on in his mind. Maybe he was too protective; maybe he didn't give his younger sibling enough space. His thoughts were interrupted as T.K. began to clear his throat to say something.

"Matt?" he said quietly, his voice wavering.

The older boy craned his head to face his brother. His features still held a look of self-pity, but most of that was forgotten as he studied his little brother's expression. It looked as though tears were welling up in his eyes…was he mistaken, or could it be the harsh wind stinging them?

"T.K.?" Matt paused, unsure if he should even inquire as to what was wrong. Finally, he decided that he didn't care how upset his brother got; he was determined to know what troubled the youth. "What's the matter?"

"I'm…I'm sorry, for snapping at you like that." He sniffled.

"Uh…" Matt was unsure upon how to react at this point. Why was _he_ apologizing, wasn't it Matt who was at fault? Matt quickly shrugged off all the trivial technicalities of the situation, as he saw his brother succumb more to his emotions.

"It's alright T.K. It's alright." Matt said, completely ignoring his better judgment, he unfastened his safety belt and scooted closer to his brother. Using his good arm, he pulled T.K. close, almost cradling him in his arms as the boy began to sob into his chest. Matt squeezed his eyes shut; it was all he could do to stop the wind from whipping his hair into his eyes.

This scene reminded Matt of a time in which the boys were very, very young. He wasn't sure how old they were approximately, but he remembered the melodious sound of his harmonica being pierced by that of T.K.'s loud screaming.

Calmly, he stood up and toddled over to where the small boy sat weeping over a pile of scattered building blocks.

"Atta boy T.K." he smiled, picking his brother up and hugging him. T.K.'s bright blue eyes shined up at him as if in admiration. The crying stopped as a huge smile manifested on his face.

Matt wished now that a few comforting words and a hug would fix the situation, but he knew that the problem went much deeper than a few blocks being knocked over.

Matt rubbed T.K.'s back soothingly, as the younger boy struggled to compose himself.

"Tell me T.K…tell me what's bothering you." Matt requested.

Wiping his tears with the sleeve of his shirt, T.K. caught sight of Matt's injured arm again, eliciting more guilt-ridden tears.

"This is all my fault Matt." He pleaded. "Your arm, being kidnapped, everything!" This last confession caused him to sob more.

Nancy leaned around her seat to see what all the commotion from the backseat was about.

"T.K.? Are you alright son? Matt what's wrong?" she asked with concern. "Don't worry honey, I've notified the police, they should be here to help us shortly. We'll be alright. Your father's behind the wheel, and he's quite the speed demon when he wants to be." She said, though it seemed like she was trying more to assure herself than T.K.

T.K., eyes red and swollen from crying looked up at his mom.

"It's okay mom." He confirmed. "I know."

Nancy only smiled in relief and turned back to check on their current standings.

"It's still my fault." He whispered to Matt, breaking their embrace. "I caused this," he said, pointing to Matt's bandaged arm. "I'm responsible for this as well." He added, touching the gauze on Matt's forehead.

"No T.K. These were accidents." Matt pressed, pulling the boy's hand away from the wound on his head.

"No," T.K. refused, "If I hadn't have tried to take control of that car, it wouldn't have hit you!" he insisted.

Matt only shook his head and bit his lower lip. "This wouldn't have happened if those gangsters weren't after us. None of this is your fault." He confirmed. 

T.K. contemplated this for a brief moment. "I still feel somewhat responsible." He frowned.

"Listen to me." Matt said strongly, almost as if it were an order, "You are in no way responsible for any of this. I don't blame you for any of it."

"Really?" T.K. asked, "You honestly don't feel I'm a burden to you?" he asked, his eyes shined sincerely.

"A burden?" Matt asked, taken aback by this statement. "T.K…you were never a burden to me…you're my brother." He urged, tears starting to form in his eyes.

"T.K. I'm sorry." Matt blurted before his brother could respond to his sentimental statement.

"You? But what do you have to be sorry for?" T.K. asked curiously.

"I'm overprotective…I'm the same selfish person I was in the Digital World…and…and…" Matt paused, hanging on the rest of his sentence, while T.K's eyes filled with disbelief. "…you don't need me anymore, and I just can't handle that." He said bowing his head, willing his tears not to fall.

T.K.'s mouth was agape in what only could be described as shock.

"Yama?" he said weakly, sounding almost as he did when he was younger. "How can you say that? After all this, how can you tell me that I don't need you? The only reason I'm alive now is because of you! Of course I need you!" T.K. cried, as he grabbed Matt's hands and squeezed them tightly in his own. "Don't you ever forget that! Never!" T.K. ordered.

Despite being in a life or death car chase, with a horde of angry gangsters in hot pursuit, Malcolm smiled proudly in the rearview mirror as he listened to his sons. However, this moment was cut short as his head darted to the left in time to see a black car careening toward them.

"Malcolm!!" Nancy screamed, as the vehicle collided with the left side of the car. Malcolm was thrown sideways, nearly landing in Nancy's lap, who smacked into the passenger side window. The car swerved to the left and right a bit before Malcolm could regain control of it.

In the backseat, Matt lurched forward, falling onto T.K.

"Are you alright?" T.K. asked holding the older boy up, who seemed to be a little stunned.

"Yeah…you?" he barely had a chance to ask when a second car made impact with the right side of the vehicle, sending Matt flying backwards and into the door of the left side of the car. A loud thump was heard as his head connected with the inside of the door, and he slumped down into the soft interior of the backseat.

"Matt!?!" T.K cried, a great wave of concern washing over his entire body, as his brother remained motionless.

Nancy was rocked to the other side, giving her no time to assess her own injuries, when she heard her son's cry. Quickly she whirled around to see Matt lying lifeless in the back, and T.K. struggling with his safety belt.

"Matt! T.K.!!" she cried, as a third car rear-ended them. Nancy was thrown forward; a sharp pain cut her across the chest as her seatbelt held it's ground, accompanied by Malcolm's strong arm. She warily gazed up to see him with one hand on the wheel, a look of determination in his eye, as his other hand shielded her from harm.

The jolt from behind only impeded T.K.'s progress momentarily, as he quickly bounced back, ripping his seatbelt off and making his way to Matt.

"Matt!?" he cried a second time, hoping to rouse the older boy.

Matt's eyes swam in his head., as he frantically tried to open them. A loud ringing in his ears and a mild feeling of discomfort on the back of his head was the only thing that stopped him from rebounding as fast as he wanted to. As the ringing subsided he could hear a voice…T.K.'s voice, calling to him.

The younger boy shook Matt's shoulders violently.

"Matt! Matt! Please wake up!" T.K. hollered.

"I'm here T.K." Matt said as he groggily opened his eyes. A blurry image of his brother came into view.

T.K. smiled in relief, but his smile was quickly replaced by a look of sudden terror. Matt looked up at him inquisitively, wondering what had caused the look of panic, when another hit from the side sent T.K. teetering back towards the missing car door.

"NOOOO!!" Matt screamed, his hand shooting out to grab his brother, ignoring all the pain that burned in his ribs and coursed through his arm as he threw himself forward, desperately trying to save his brother.

The younger boy could feel himself sailing through the air, and thought for sure he was a goner. Why had he taken off his seatbelt…and Matt seemed so very far away, scrambling to get to him.

"Now!" Murphy yelled, realizing their perfect chance. Mac slid the car towards the backend of Malcolm's vehicle; the two were now close enough to trade paint.

T.K. was presently surprised when a pair of hands grabbed him from underneath his arms and held him, suspended between the two cars, as Matt held him by his legs. Glancing over his shoulder, he noticed Mac driving the sinister black car, as Murphy sat next to him, as he brought his gaze up he realized that Vanni had been both his captor and unlikely savior.

"Let me go!" he demanded, not really meaning it, for if Vanni were to let him go, he would become an ugly mess on the side of the road.

"Malcolm!!" Murphy yelled from beside them. "I have your son!!! I think it would behoove you to pull over, or I'll have my associate let him go!"

"No!" Nancy screamed, hurrying to unbuckle her safety belt.

"Uh uh Nancy." Murphy warned, signaling for Mac to pull to the right.

Matt held on tightly as T.K.'s body began to stretch amid the two vehicles. T.K. squeezed his eyes shut, either expecting to be viciously pulled apart or dropped to the ground.

"Matt!!" he cried pitifully, not knowing what else to do.

"Malcolm, steer to the right!" Nancy shouted, her ex-husband complying, closing the gap between the two cars.

"What to do, what to do?" Murphy grinned evilly at the couple. 

Glancing in the rear view mirror Malcolm could see flashing blue and red lights in the distance accompanied by sirens.

"Thank God." He said, sweat dripping from his brow. But they weren't out of the woods yet. There was still the matter of getting T.K. back, and Malcolm couldn't figure out how they could possibly do that when Murphy wouldn't even let Nancy get near him. Currently, they were sandwiched between the three cars, and their only path was forward. Even so, if they were able to, Malcolm couldn't make any fancy maneuvers with the car while his son was hanging out the side of it.

"Dammit!" he cursed under his breath.

There was nothing Matt could do. He felt so helpless…he dejected that feeling. His heart beat wildly as he tried to come up with a plan. There had to be a way, there just had to!

Then a thought occurred to him. Maybe…maybe if he could reach his arm out, then perhaps T.K. would be able to grab onto it, and Matt could pull him back inside…but no, this plan was no good. He didn't want to let go of T.K. He had to keep a hold of his legs to anchor him. Matt closed his eyes in deep thought.

Another memory forced itself into his mind. This time they were outside the diner, where he and Joe had been made to work against their will. He remembered Iron Vegiemon dangling T.K. from the rooftop, threatening to drop him. A similar situation was set before him now. Back then he had Joe and Weregarurumon to help him, oh how he wished his digimon companion were with him now.

"T.K. I won't let you fall!!" he cried, shattering the memory and bringing himself back to reality all in the same beat.

Without hesitation, Matt knew what he had to do. Firmly grasping T.K.'s leg with one hand, Matt brought his bandaged arm up to his teeth, and began tearing the bandages away. If he was going to rescue T.K., he wanted something that the younger boy could get a good hold on. As he ripped the rest of the bandages away and gently shook his arm freeing the splints, he heard a frightened gasp from his mother.

"Malcolm, we're nearing the end of the road!" she cried. Matt only paused briefly to catch a glimpse of the edge of a canyon coming up. Taking this into account made him work faster at his task.

_Come on Matt! You can do this!!_ He pushed himself. With one last glance at his parents, Matt turned around and dove towards T.K., firmly securing his legs with his good arm.

"Grab my hand!!" Matt yelled.

T.K. looked at his brother fearfully.

"Come on! Trust me T.K.!" Matt pleaded.

Slowly, T.K. began to reach out for the older boy's hand. Seeing this, Vanni jerked him backwards, just as he was within mere inches of his brother's grasp.

"Try again T.K.!" Matt urged, refusing to let him give up.

Once again, T.K. leaned in forward, struggling against Vanni's hold. This time the greasy gangster decided that T.K. wouldn't be trying that again and began to brace himself against the car door, preparing to yank T.K. away from Matt permanently. Unfortunately for Vanni, he placed one foot on the door panel. A clicking noise made him cock his head curiously. He was about to pull back on T.K. when the power window began to roll up.

"You can do it T.K.!" Matt cheered, as their fingertips touched. "Just a little more squirt!"

"Vanni you moron!!" Murphy screamed as he glanced back to see the feeble-minded youth stuck in the window. "If I had my gun I'd shoot him myself." The gangster muttered, bringing his two index fingers up to his temples in frustration. He inhaled through his nose and shook his head exasperated. Suddenly, the old man's eyes shot open revealing a crazed look of malice. "Run them off the cliff!!" he screamed to Mac, as he grabbed the wheel tightly and jerked it to the left.

"Boss…I cank breaf…ack!" Vanni gurgled flailing his arms, and in the process dropping T.K.

The younger blonde's sapphire eyes went wide in horror, as he felt himself begin to fall back, still attempting to reach out to his brother.

Matt couldn't contain himself any longer and sprang into action. Despite the agonizing pain that ripped through his now throbbing arm, he lunged forward, letting go of T.K.'s legs so he could grab him with both hands. His muscles tensed under the strain, but he refused to let T.K. go.

"I gotcha! Hang on T.K." Matt cried in relief. Tears flowed down his cheeks freely as his chest heaved in and out. His sense of worry and panic subsided for the moment, as he concentrated on how to get his brother into the safety of the backseat.

T.K. hovered just outside the vehicle, his heart pumping wildly with adrenaline, as his brother proceeded to pull him back into the car.

Matt's eyes caught sight of the enormous black vehicle making a kamikaze maneuver towards them. With one last desperate tug, he managed to haul T.K. through the opening, as they landed safely onto the backseat before Murphy rammed into the side of them.

The car shimmied in the loose sand, as Malcolm struggled to regain control of the vehicle. Glancing in his side view mirror, he noticed the car behind him, as well as the car to his left backing off and abandoning their pursuit.

"Where do they think they're going!?!?" Murphy raged, as the lust for blood and vengeance completely took control of his better judgment. Mac stared out the windshield in terror.

"Boss!" He tried to reason, "We need to turn back now!!" he shouted, attempting to pull the steering wheel from Murphy's clutches.

"NO! NOOOO!!!" he screamed wild-eyed. "They're going to die!!" he cackled insanely, wrenching the wheel away from Mac.

"Malcolm, what are you doing!?" Nancy cried, searching her ex-husband's eyes for an explanation as he sped up towards the cliff's edge. "This is no time to be proving your manhood!!" she screamed.

Malcolm seemed to have the same crazy look in his eye as Murphy; however, his was justified as he gave Nancy a reassuring grin. The young woman nodded and latched onto his arm, squeezing it firmly, as if to say she trusted him.

With the other two cars gone, this gave Malcolm enough room to escape. At the last two hundred or so feet, he jerked the wheel sharply to the left, at the same time pumping the brakes, which made the car turn into a slight skid.

Murphy seethed with anger at this move and tried to counteract it by having Mac double back and ram them again, but by the time the car managed to turn, it was already too late. The squall of the tires as they desperately tried to grip the road, were the last sound  the passengers of the vehicle heard before careening off the side of the canyon.

The family came to a jerky halt, as Malcolm was finally able to stop the car using the emergency brake. He and Nancy watched as the dust settled in the direction where Murphy and his band had taken their last turn. The reporter's eyes quickly darted to the rearview mirror to inspect the welfare of his sons. As his gaze shifted from T.K. to Matt and back again, he managed to catch a glimpse of the flock of squad cars rounding up the two stray vehicles. Malcolm sighed in relief, being very grateful that their torment was now finally put to rest.

Nancy leaned back around, unbuckling her seatbelt anxiously.

"Are you boys alright?" she asked, all her emotions taking instant control. Both parents exited the car and ran around to the rear of the vehicle. Nancy raced over to T.K.'s side and pulled him out of the car and into her open arms, where she caressed the back of his head and showered him with a barrage of kisses.

Matt tried as best he could to prop himself up on his elbows, since he still lay sprawled across the back seat. He was presently surprised as the car door behind him opened and his dad reached in and pulled him out. He never knew his dad to be that strong. Malcolm embraced his son tightly, as if he would never let him go.

Then slowly, from either side of the car, the family stared at one another. Once again, they were separated, a dividing line drawn between them. Malcolm looked down at his son thoughtfully, trying to avoid eye contact with Nancy. He was at a loss for words. They had just been through the most horrendous ordeal of their lives, an ordeal that tested their strength, love, and bond for one another, and now it was over, and he seemed lost.

T.K. was the first to initiate any kind of movement, as he latched on to his mother's arm and dragged her around towards Matt and Malcolm. Matt seeing his brother's actions did the same, as the two divided families met in the middle of their paths.

It was silent for a very long time, as none of them were quite sure what to do next. It was a very awkward moment. Malcolm watched his wife and youngest son fondly. No words were spoken between the two brothers, they knew how one another felt in their hearts, and no words could quite express that.

Matt waited patiently for something to happen. He didn't really have any set expectations. He held out as long as his body would allow, ignoring the pain in his arm that had been aggravated further by his last actions of helping T.K. And finally it became too much to bear, as he gripped his arm tightly and leaned into his father.

Nancy could no longer abstain from her motherly instincts and rushed to his side.

"Oh Matt! Are you alright sweetie? I'm so sorry." She sobbed, having felt guilty for not rushing to him as she had done with T.K.

"It's okay Mom." Matt said calmly, his arms at his sides. He really hadn't the strength to return the hug, though he would have done so gratefully.

T.K. smiled up at his father, his blue eyes glistening in the rays of the setting sun. Slowly, he strode up beside Nancy and Matt and placed one arm around her back, using his other arm to beckon his father over. Malcolm fought back tears of joy as he took his place amongst his family. For that brief moment in time, a moment in which both T.K. and Matt treasured for the rest of their lives…they were a family again. 

"And that's it." Matt said as he stood up to stretch, keeping in mind that his arm was still in a sling.

"That's all?!" A very intrigued Tai stated.

"Yeah. The cops came and we got to ride in an ambulance, and that's about all." T.K. shrugged; he really hadn't wanted to discuss the matter any further. And if left up to him, the matter would be immediately forgotten.

"That sounds like some adventure you two had." Izzy pointed out, looking up from his computer.

"Not exactly what I'd call an adventure." Matt corrected, scratching at the bandages around his wrist.

"The doctor said not to do that." T.K. mumbled, a slight chuckle escaping him, as he realized how much like his mother he had sounded at that moment.

"What the doctor doesn't know won't hurt him." Matt smirked.

"And who said the doctor wouldn't know?" Joe asked, tapping his foot, a remark that caused the whole group to burst into laughter.

"Well," Kari sighed, "I'm just glad you're both okay. Do you think things have changed between your folks since the ordeal?" the keeper of Light asked. 

The question received discouraged looks from both boys, and that was all the answer Kari needed.

"At least you won't have any icky scars." Mimi added, getting a roomful of rolling eyes and exasperated sighs. "Well, it's the truth." Mimi blushed.

"Yeah," Sora agreed, after all, she did have a point, no matter how pointless it was to the conversation. Mimi smiled at the fact that someone agreed with her.

Just then, a sudden rap at the door startled everyone, as Tai rushed to answer it.

"Hey guys! I brought some snacks!" Yolei shouted as she burst through the doorway, with Davis, Ken, and Cody in tow.

"What'd we miss!?" Davis whined before he was distracted by the smell of Yolei's food.

Matt let out a small chuckle before his eyes caught sight of T.K. slowly making his way towards the hallway. Curious, Matt followed him.

Silently, he crept up behind his younger sibling.

"She's wrong y'know." He stated without emotion in his voice, his eyes staring mindlessly down the hall.

"What do you mean?" Matt queried.

"There are scars…just not on the outside." He continued, turning to face Matt with a closed fist, which he brought up to his chest, emphasizing the pain he felt in his heart.

The older blonde blinked and stared down at the carpet. "I know T.K…I know." He said, patting the younger boy on the back. Another knock at the door drew the attention of the two brothers. They both glanced at each other with puzzled looks.

No one else, in all the commotion of filling their faces with food, had heard the quiet knocking except for Matt and T.K. who stood closest to the door.

The two brothers both headed silently for the rapping sound. With hesitant hands, T.K. reached for the doorknob. Upon opening it, they realized nobody was there.

"That's strange." T.K. commented glancing down the hall as Matt looked in the other direction.

A small gasp from Matt brought T.K.'s eyes up to where he stood staring, his body petrified at the object embedded in the wall before him. At the same time T.K.'s eyes went wide in horror as he gripped the doorframe. There in front of them was Murphy's blade. Both boys shot each other worried looks in unison before slamming the door shut.

*…and cue Murphy's maniacal laughter!* Muwhahahahahahahaa!!!!!! *and cut! Roll credits!*

…

…..

…….

The End…for now.

Hey, I had to leave it open for a sequel. *grins* And that concludes my fic…I certainly hope it was worth the wait! And just think, *sits back and sighs* this all may have not been possible, had I not watched 3,000 Miles to Graceland some 4 or 5 months ago. lol. Okay, now back to work on my Taiora fic, which I've neglected for quite some time. *scampers off*  Oh yeah, and remember…review review review. I put a lot of time into this story and I'd like to know what everyone thought of it. Please!! *big grin* ^_^ Thanx! 


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